Lease Renewal 101: Your Options 60 Days Before It Ends
Renew, raise the rent, or not renew? Here are a landlord’s real lease renewal options, what each one takes, and the timeline for deciding before your lease ends.
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Pets, Service Animals, and Emotional Support Animals in a Rental
Animals in a rental are a challenge for a lot of landlords, and for good reason. An animal can cause expensive damage fast, and most of us have heard the horror stories even if we have never lived one. There is also the Fair Housing side. When an applicant or tenant asks for an accommodation…
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The Tenant Move-Out Process: A Landlord’s Step-by-Step Guide
Your tenant just told you they are moving out. Depending on how your lease is set up, your tenant may or may not know the tenant move-out process and expectations. Even if you did or did not outline a full move out process in your lease you can communicate today to set the tone for…
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Security Deposit Itemized Deduction List: A Landlord’s Guide
The tenant is out, the keys are back, and you are trying to decide what is fair to keep. You walk the unit, match what you see against your move-in report and begin to write your turnover to do list. What do you charge and what comes out of your pocket? I built my own…
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What to Include in a Lease Agreement: A Landlord’s Checklist
Whether you are signing a renewal with an existing tenant or you are still in the screening phase with applicants, having a solid lease in place is good for you and good for your tenant. A solid lease is a roadmap. It gives both of you the same understanding and the same reference point for…
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Security Deposit Return Laws by State
The tenant hands back the keys. The deposit is still sitting in your account. Now a clock you might not have noticed is already running. I built a simple return process for myself because that clock made me nervous. I did not want to forget what day it was while I was taking care of…
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What a Complete Rental Application Actually Includes
A complete rental application is more than one form. Here is every document, disclosure, and fee a landlord should collect, and why each one matters.
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How to Pre-Screen Tenants: Questions to Ask Before a Showing
BEGINNING OF TENANCY How to Pre-Screen Tenants: Questions to Ask Before a Showing JCJessica Cadena Jul 17, 2026 8 min read You did the hard part. You wrote your screening criteria before you listed. Now the phone starts ringing, the emails come in, and every one of them wants to see the place. If you…
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How to Build Your Tenant Screening Criteria: The Independent Landlord’s Guide
How independent landlords build written tenant screening criteria that is fast, consistent, and legally defensible. Income, credit and debt, rental history, occupancy, pets, co-signers, and Fair Housing, plus DTI matrices you can use.