my friend wants month to month & I think it’s ok
I need to know if this is safe?
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My personal opinion is to get it in writing– even if it’s just a simple, single page agreement. Just something to set some ground rules.
I was renting a house from my aunt and we never had a written agreement… it was a messy situation. She felt the right to show up whenever she wanted, she talked about kicking me out a few times (only to profit from selling), and she expected me to keep up all her specific flowers and gardening. It was destroying my soul, I swear. There was constant stress of her showing up or saying it was time to leave on short notice.
Maybe I’m jaded now, but I think getting it in writing is a million times safer, even if it’s friends or family.
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Writing 
then a notary?
Mira temporary! But will keep listening
No notary necessary, I think. Just a simple list of things you can agree on, like if you’re charging rent how much that is, or no pets, no smoking- things like that.
There’s also a simple lease mock-up here: https://www.lawdepot.com/contracts/residential-lease/
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Is your friend moving in with you? Are you the Landlord, or are you both renting?
A lease is a good idea to protect both of you. There are plenty of sample lease forms, it does not need to be notarized, and the lease can be month to month.
Having something in writing is generally a good idea for multiple reasons.
First it helps you to remember certain things you agreed on and second it gives you a little bit of leverage in the case your friend did something to break the agreement (not what anyone would want but it happens)
I recently borrowed some money from a family member and while we didn’t get any legal paperwork done, she still had me sign a “loan agreement” just to be clear on things like repayment, etc.
Even a signature can have a little bit of power in the case things took a turn for the worse.
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I watch a lot of court tv. Take pictures of the condition of every room and especially anything wrong…a stain on the floor, a crack in a wall, anything. That way if they try to say you damaged it, you will have proof in the pictures. If you are the renter, always take pictures of your place before you rent it to prove the condition it was in when you rented it. Goes both ways. Protect yourself. Get that informal lease too…for rent cost and expectations…who pays utilities, etc.
Thanks excellent information!
Is this tax free income or do renter pay the taxes I wonder
Sadly, there is no such thing as tax free income. The owner pays taxes on the profit made from rent, but gets to count expenses against the profit. If you’re talking property taxes, I guess you can figure taxes into the rent amount.
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Thanks so much, I am looking for a link on what I gotta do? For tax purposes & etc.
Find the Tenant and Landlord Act for the state you want to lease/rent in and let that help guide you. It’s definitely protection for both parties if the agreement is in writing. In AZ, I have week to week and month to month tenants. All started with six month agreement that included an item to continue agreement as week to week or month to month once the six month period expired. Regardless of written agreement, Tenant and Landlord Act spells out items like notice periods for eviction, etc.
I rent month to month and accept payments weekly or biweekly. I usually do not write up leases. I rely on the state laws which govern over a written lease anyways but I just did a month to month situation because an agency is paying her rent. In Michigan, everything is 30-day notice anyways. I am also a licensed real estate agent in Michigan, as well.
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sidenote…I will not rent to friends and family. It always turns out badly and you don’t get paid plus you are always the bad guy.
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