I'm a young homeowner that is interested in buying and renting / selling property. I've got a property that I'm interested in renting in a few months but I want to educate myself in accordance to my local and federal landlord vs. tenant laws. Where is a good place to go from here? I've looked around on the Internet and found some good resources but they have all been pay and I have a good feeling that if I look hard enough I could find these for free. I've read some things on lexus-nexus but there isn't too much there. What information and formalities are required for buying renting and selling property? What are the legal documents or applications that are required to be filled? Does anyone have some great resources outside of this site (which has some great insight)
I don't know of any sites that aren't selling something. Depends on where you and the property are located. Federal regulations are few. Equal Opportunity and the lead paint regulations are about the only thing you need be concerned about. Locally you may or may not need a business license or have some other hoops to jump through. If you have a Tenant Services listing in your phone book start by calling that number.
There are actually many things that are required to be filled by the owner/buyer. The application forms that he will need are: Rental application form, residential lease form, pet agreement etc. There is a site which contains all type of such forms. I don’t remember the name exactly. I think it’s ezlandlordforms.com. You can try and find out. You can see and decide what kind of application is required at present.
I'm not sure anyone here can give you a single site, since there are both state and local laws (city and county) you have to know about, and we don't know where you are. Each state will probably have a web site with relevant laws - look for both rules and regulations and "tenant rights". The Housing and Urban Development site is a good place to start - it links to both state and local web sites. I'll use Los Angeles, California as an example, but you can do your own searching for wherever it is you are. There are resources for both landlords and tenants on the linked sites. http://www.hud.gov/local/ca/renting/tenantrights.cfm http://www.dca.ca.gov/legal/landlordbook/ (California State Landlord/Tenant Law) http://www.ci.la.ca.us/lahd/ (Los Angeles Housing Department) You can probably also get local law information and appropriate forms at your local city hall. There may also be special rules for the housing development you live in. Be sure to double check any such rules you received when your purchased your home, as well as your local homeowners association. Start here (http://www.hud.gov/local/index.cfm) and good luck.
I also wanted to point out that there are property management companies that will take care of all the paperwork for you, screen tenants, etc. Of course they take their cut, but it can be worth it if you don't have the time or expertise to do it yourself.