Have your lease file in a handy place. This may sound trivial, but a surprising number of tenants can't even find their original lease, let alone associated documents and landlord correspondence pertaining to the lease. Searching for documents is time consuming and can be costly. Organize now and you will thank yourself later. We also recommend clients keep an abstract of each lease in the file for easy reference.
Abstracts give a quick summary of the terms, rents, and expenses of the lease.
When kept up to date, they are especially valuable for preparing annual budgets. Know the terms of your lease . Not only know the terms, but have critical dates in your calendar so that you are prepared. Also review the key terms of the lease including expiration date, how rent is calculated, how expenses are paid and increases are handled, when options occur and when you need to exercise your right to renew. So, prepare in advance.