{"id":8784,"date":"2025-05-05T19:53:22","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T19:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/?p=8784"},"modified":"2025-05-05T20:00:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T20:00:49","slug":"the-importance-of-proper-paperwork-and-rental-agreements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/2025\/05\/05\/the-importance-of-proper-paperwork-and-rental-agreements\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Proper Paperwork and Rental Agreements"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Over the years in property management across Southwest Washington State, we\u2019ve seen our share of DIY landlords who get into trouble because their paperwork isn\u2019t correct. It\u2019s vital to understand the importance of proper paperwork and documentation, and all of this starts with your lease agreement.<\/p>

Washington State Lease Agreements<\/h4>

It\u2019s very easy to make a mistake if you try to create your own lease. Have it drawn up by an attorney or a local property management company. This is for your own protection.<\/p>

Once you have the lease, you also need additional documents that are required to go with that lease agreement.<\/p>

Walk-Through Inspection Report<\/h4>

When you\u2019re ready to sign the lease with your tenants, provide a move-in walk-through condition report that reflects the inspection of your rental property. This is legally required if you\u2019re collecting a security deposit from your tenants. The law says that if you take that deposit, you need to provide a move-in checklist that\u2019s signed by both the landlord and the tenant.<\/p>

If you don\u2019t complete a walk-through, and yet you collect a security deposit, there will likely be a problem later on. You are not going to be able to charge for any damage. So, we cannot stress this enough – it\u2019s very important to do a move-in walk-through. And then, it\u2019s important to document it.<\/p>

Your incoming tenant does not have to be present for the walk-through; you can do the inspection on your own, and then once it\u2019s done, hand the checklist over to the tenant, and give them three days (no longer than that) to add anything that they want on the move-in condition sheet. Get the signature prior to them moving in because you\u2019ll find it\u2019s much harder to get that signature after the tenant moves in.<\/p>

Documenting Safety Disclosures in Your Lease Agreement<\/h4>

Once you have taken care of the move-in inspection and you have the lease ready for signing, make sure you have the required mold documentation. If your investment property was constructed prior to 1978, you\u2019ll also need a lead-based paint disclosure form.<\/p>

You\u2019ll also need smoke and carbon monoxide forms to be filled out and provided to your tenants. It\u2019s very important to have this documentation. If you don\u2019t have the proper paperwork, you could find yourself grappling with legal problems.<\/p>

Oral Agreements vs. Written Leases<\/h4>

If you move a tenant into your property without a signed lease, but you offered one to your tenant and they did not sign it, you effectively have an oral agreement. If you wanted them to stay for a year but the lease was never signed, the oral agreement binds them to a one-year term.<\/p>

When you place a tenant for more than a year, you must follow the Washington State Landlord Tenant Law that requires your lease agreement to be notarized. If you don\u2019t get it notarized, the courts will see it as a month-to-month rental agreement.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That\u2019s understandable. With the online rental sites and social media platforms available, it\u2019s easier than ever to market and advertise a rental home. But, it\u2019s also crowded. Tenants are scrolling through listing after listing, and it can be difficult to stand out. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[9,12,13],"class_list":["post-8784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-houses","category-property","tag-architecture","tag-design","tag-interior"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8784"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8790,"href":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8784\/revisions\/8790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myaiostagingweb.com\/sunworldgroup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}