4 ms·

I’m a small time landlord and I went the route of no leases. Everything is month to month. I think it’s a better deal for everyone. I collect first and last mo

I’m a small time landlord and I went the route of no leases. Everything is month to month. I think it’s a better deal for everyone. I collect first and last months rent at move in. I’m selective and do an internet search to see what I find. 3 years in and things are good. My first tenant is still living there I have had only 2 move out in less than a year. My thinking is that the relationship of providing housing is too intimate to trust to a legal contract. I would rather speak directly to a tenant regarding issues than both side trying to interpret a document. My thought is that if we can’t work it out face to face no document will save the relationship and it’s best for everyone to move on.

gruez 2y ago
Contracts aren't for things are going smooth. They're for when things go wrong. What if a tenant is constantly late on their payments? What if they're excessively noisy? What if they claim you're not fixing things on time?
- detourdog 2y ago
  Since they pay first and last they can not pay rent for 30 Days. Once that happens I can give them 30 days notice and finally call the sheriff. This is called at will tenancy in my Commonwealth. Here is what our relationship is based on. https://www.mass.gov/doc/the-attorney-generals-guide-to-landlordtenant-rights/download https://www.mass.gov/doc/the-attorney-generals-guide-to-land...
- alwa 2y ago
  For that matter, what if you're the tenant and you think the landlord isn't doing something they should? In either role, if it's month-to-month... either of you says to the other that it's not working out, give whatever the statutory notice is? And if the landlord didn't collect the last month's rent at the outset, maybe they end up eating a couple months' rent they would have made otherwise? And the tenant needs to scoot to find a new place, but like, it's fine? If either party wanted the security of a lease for a longer term, they could have entered into one, but they didn't, so... that's the deal, right? Except for really egregious stuff that the law would have something to say about?
- rcxdude 2y ago
  In a lot of places this is so heavily regulated the rental contracts are more of a record of the tenancy and rent than actually meaning anything for the agreement.
  - detourdog 2y ago
    I couldn't find the advantage of using leases and it's pretty straightforward to rent month to month.
LeafItAlone 2y ago
What state is this in? This approach could be disastrous for you in some. >My thought is that if we can’t work it out face to face no document will save the relationship and it’s best for everyone to move on. I’m assuming you haven’t yet run into a situation when you decide it’s time everyone moves on but the tenant disagrees?
- detourdog 2y ago
  So far so good on the tenant front. I try to screen my tenants for negative or positive attitudes. Down a few posts I posted the document published by Massachusetts attorney general that describes the relationships.

gruez 2y ago

Contracts aren't for things are going smooth. They're for when things go wrong. What if a tenant is constantly late on their payments? What if they're excessively noisy? What if they claim you're not fixing things on time?

detourdog 2y ago
Since they pay first and last they can not pay rent for 30 Days. Once that happens I can give them 30 days notice and finally call the sheriff. This is called at will tenancy in my Commonwealth. Here is what our relationship is based on. https://www.mass.gov/doc/the-attorney-generals-guide-to-landlordtenant-rights/download https://www.mass.gov/doc/the-attorney-generals-guide-to-land...
alwa 2y ago
For that matter, what if you're the tenant and you think the landlord isn't doing something they should? In either role, if it's month-to-month... either of you says to the other that it's not working out, give whatever the statutory notice is? And if the landlord didn't collect the last month's rent at the outset, maybe they end up eating a couple months' rent they would have made otherwise? And the tenant needs to scoot to find a new place, but like, it's fine? If either party wanted the security of a lease for a longer term, they could have entered into one, but they didn't, so... that's the deal, right? Except for really egregious stuff that the law would have something to say about?
rcxdude 2y ago
In a lot of places this is so heavily regulated the rental contracts are more of a record of the tenancy and rent than actually meaning anything for the agreement.
- detourdog 2y ago
  I couldn't find the advantage of using leases and it's pretty straightforward to rent month to month.

LeafItAlone 2y ago

What state is this in? This approach could be disastrous for you in some. >My thought is that if we can’t work it out face to face no document will save the relationship and it’s best for everyone to move on. I’m assuming you haven’t yet run into a situation when you decide it’s time everyone moves on but the tenant disagrees?

detourdog 2y ago
So far so good on the tenant front. I try to screen my tenants for negative or positive attitudes. Down a few posts I posted the document published by Massachusetts attorney general that describes the relationships.