YOU'LL LEARN: 1) Essential Tips for Every Step in the Landlord Lifecycle 2) The Most Important Laws that Every Landlord Should Follow; 3) Top List of Guides and Resources for Landlords; CONTENTS: 1. Tips for Listings / Showings 2. Tips for Applications 3. Tips for Screening Tenants 4. Tips for Deposits 5. Tips for Leases 6. Tips for Move-in 7. Tips for Collecting Rent 8. Tips for Repairs and Maintenance 9. Tips for Renewals / Move-out 10. Rental Laws 11. Best Practices 12. Best Resources 13. About Cozy SUPPORTING LINKS: Cozy - Free Software for Landlords: https://cozy.co Landlordology: http://www.landlordology.com

1. ESSENTIAL TIPS
BY LUCAS HALL
FOR BEING A
SUCCESSFUL LANDLORD

2. AGENDA
1. Tips for the Landlord Lifecycle
2. Important Rental Laws
3. Useful Guides & Resources

3. SPEAKER
Lucas Hall
• Landlord, ~10 yrs
• Founder, Landlordology
• Chief Landlordologist and
Community Manager
@CozyCo
• Not a Lawyer :)
• 4 Properties / ~17 Tenants

5. LISTINGS / SHOWINGS
1. Craigslist & Postlets are still #1
2. Pictures… Ohhh, Pretty!
3. Host a “Landlord’s Open House”

6. APPLICATIONS
1. Use online applications
2. SSN#, not required
3. Collect applications from all
adult occupants

7. SCREENING TENANTS
1. Able and willing to pay rent?
2. Ask landlords; “would you rent to them
again?”
3. Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National
Origin, Familial Status, Disability
4. Sex Offender is not a protected class;
www.nsopw.gov

8. DEPOSITS
1. Collect a deposit before or at
lease signings
2. Useful as compensation for
damages; material or financial
3. Don’t commingle funds

9. LEASES
1. Use a rock-solid lease, stick to it
2. Every adult occupant signs the
lease with joint & several liability
3. Review entire lease w/ applicants
& use e-signature tools:
HelloSign, SignNow, DocuSign

10. MOVE-IN
1. Specify move-in/move-out times
2. Keys; no earlier than Day 1 of lease
3. Allow tenant to document condition
and perform inspection
4. $10 welcome gift w/ Day 1
essential items

11. COLLECTING RENT
1. Mandate online & automatic
payments
2. Charge hefty late fees
3. Set up an operating bank account
4. Don’t collect last month’s rent

12. REPAIRS
1. Acknowledge requests within hours
2. “Call anytime”; be available via SMS
3. Give proper notice every time
4. Use a lockbox for trusted contractors

13. RENEWAL / MOVE-OUT
1. Require 60 day notice of non-renewal
on fixed-term leases
2. Don’t always raise the rent
3. Host showings 4-6 weeks out
4. Provide a instructions / cleaning list

14. RENTAL LAWS

15. RENTAL LAWS
1. Federal Laws (sort of): The Uniform Residential
Landlord Tenant Act (URLTA) of 1972
2. Return Deposit: 15-60 days move-out and/or
lease termination; w/ itemized receipts and
separate account.
3. Wrongful Withholding: 1-3x amount
4. Non-Refundable Fees: Allowed in AZ, NV, WV,
FL, UT, WY, GA, WA

16. RENTAL LAWS
5. Rent Grace Period: 0-15 days
6. Late Fees: limit by % or day. I recommend
one time fee + small daily fee.
7. Notice to Enter: Usually 24+ Hours
8. Discrimination: Race, Color, Religion, Sex,
Familial status, Origin, or Disability.
Sometimes; Marital Status, Sexual
Orientation, Source of Income or Age

17. RENTAL LAWS
8. Non-Payment: 0-10 days to
remedy or quit
9. Lease Violation: 0-30 days to
remedy or quit
10.Unconditional Quit Notices: AR,
ND, WV, LA, OH, WY, MO, SD

18. BEST PRACTICES
1. Heating: At least 68 degrees
2. Bedrooms: Need two exits
3. Smoke Detectors: In each bdrm, CO
detectors within 15 ft of bdrm
4. Nuisance: Trash, Noise, Weeds
5. Check In: Once a month

19. RESOURCES

20. STATE LAWS
landlordology.com/state-laws
State Summaries
State-specific guides to landlord-tenant
laws
The URLTA of 1972
uniformlaws.org

22. GUIDES
landlordology.com/guides
The Landlord Guides
The Definitive How-To Guides for
Independent Landlords

23. DIRECTORY
landlordology.com/directory
Services Directory
Our list of the best online and offline
tools for Independent Landlord

24. LANDLORD: STEP BY STEP
landlordology.com/lifecycle
The Landlord Lifecycle
A comprehensive checklist of phases
when renting a property

25. GUIDES & RESOURCES
landlordology.com/ask-lucas
Ask Lucas
A Q&A Podcast about Landlording.
Ask a Question, Get an Answer.

26. (IT’S FREE)

27. ONLINE RENT COLLECTION
(FREE!)

28. TENANT SCREENING
(Also, FREE)

29. CREDIT CHECKS
(Yep, this too… FREE)

30. !
www.cozy.co
!
© 2012-2014 Cozy Services Ltd. All rights reserved.

31. QUESTIONS?