{"id":1899,"date":"2014-06-16T12:35:13","date_gmt":"2014-06-16T19:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rentecdirect.com\/blog\/?p=1899"},"modified":"2016-12-27T15:20:00","modified_gmt":"2016-12-27T23:20:00","slug":"as-a-pm-or-landlord-what-documents-are-we-required-to-keep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rentecdirect.com\/blog\/as-a-pm-or-landlord-what-documents-are-we-required-to-keep\/","title":{"rendered":"As a PM or Landlord What Documents are We Required To Keep?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"documents\"<\/a>As a\u00a0property management software\u00a0distributor catering to the property management industry, we’re often asked:\u00a0 “What documents do we need to keep?”.\u00a0 This varies state to state; however, I’ve begun compiling a list of documents that landlords and property managers absolutely must keep; not just for the term of the tenancy, but beyond.<\/p>\n

Basic Documentation:
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Lease Agreements –<\/strong>\u00a0Perhaps the most important document within your collection, this document defines the landlord \/ tenant relationship and is an absolute requirement to retain.<\/li>\n
  2. Management Agreements –<\/strong>\u00a0If your a property manager and have agreements to maintain properties on behalf of owners, these agreements are gold.<\/li>\n
  3. Move-In Inspections –<\/strong>\u00a0Whether this be a document with written down defects in the property, or a video or pictures of the condition of the property prior to tenant placement, this information is critical to keep safe for review when the tenant does move out.<\/li>\n
  4. Applications –<\/strong>\u00a0Generally your application provides you proof to run tenant screening on your prospective tenant.\u00a0 Retaining this permissions slip is important if there is ever a dispute.\u00a0 The application also serves various other uses including proof of non-discrimination, important information for collection efforts, and basic contact information on the tenant.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Other important documents:<\/strong>\u00a0 This list, while less common to store can become extremely valuable if you as a manager or landlord end up in litigation and need to prove your case.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Written documentation –<\/strong>\u00a0with the owner or tenant.\u00a0 This includes letters and emails.\u00a0 Be sure to either backup your emails or use the IMAP protocol (so the server is a backup) if you regularly use email for correspondence.<\/li>\n
    2. Fax communication –<\/strong>\u00a0 Using an online fax service like efax has a two-fold benefit.\u00a0 First, it’s electronic so your not wasting a lot of paper and the faxes arrive electronically by email.\u00a0 Second, those electronic emails can easily be backed up for reference any time later.\u00a0 If you have a paper fax machine the best option to archive those is to scan the faxes and store them in PDF in a secure location.<\/li>\n
    3. Voicemails –\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Most voicemails can be easily archived.\u00a0 If your already using a service like Google\u00a0voice, you already recognize how easy it is to save and transcribe voicemails forever.<\/li>\n
    4. Phone calls –<\/strong>\u00a0 This varies from state to state; however, Oregon for instance allows one-sided recordings of phone calls.\u00a0 This generally requires a phone system equipped to record inbound\/outbound calls as most mobile devices do not contain support for recording live calls.<\/li>\n
    5. Photos –\u00a0<\/strong>Taking and keeping photos of the property pre and post tenant is very important to documenting damage.\u00a0 Photos can also be used as a tool when evicting a tenant.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      As a legitimate business there are *tons* of other documents to retain; however, I’m focusing specifically on the landlord\/property management set of documents that first time landlords and property managers should be aware of.<\/p>\n

      It’s Imperative to keep these records, but it’s equally important to make sure your documents are backed up and secure.\u00a0 Storing them on your workstation computer alone is insufficient because workstations die frequently.\u00a0 The average lifespan of most computers is 4-5 years, and many components (especially hard drives which store the actual data) die even faster.\u00a0 It’s important to backup this data offsite.\u00a0 Some property management applications, like Rentec Direct, provide this as a built-in service, and other options include online backup services (just Google\u00a0“online backup”) or programs like dropbox.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      As a\u00a0property management software\u00a0distributor catering to the property management industry, we’re often asked:\u00a0 “What documents do we need to keep?”.\u00a0 This varies state to state; however, I’ve begun compiling a list of documents that landlords and property managers absolutely must keep; not just for the term of the tenancy, but beyond. Basic Documentation: Lease Agreements […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[275,37],"tags":[515,513,516,24,514,294],"class_list":["post-1899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-off-topic","tag-application","tag-document-retention","tag-inspection-forms","tag-landlords","tag-lease-agreement","tag-property-managers","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nAs a PM or Landlord What 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