Lease/Purchase Liability

[FarmerJ]

If you have taken reasonable steps to remove safety hazards from this property (meaning dont leave a junk car out back or reserve for your use a garage then leave it unlocked) Then if a tenants guest is injured and its not because you as a LL were careless or negligent and you have a policy that reflects that you no longer live in the house but rent it out. What makes you think you are liable to a tenants guest if say tenants guest trips over tenant owned personal property in the yard ? You know people can and do sue others for the strangest crap but wining is another thing, even your ins agent can tell you what products there are out there that a tenant can buy over and above a standard renters type of policy then ask. If there is you can require it in your lease too .

 

[dscurlock]

If you have taken reasonable steps to remove safety hazards from this property (meaning dont leave a junk car out back or reserve for your use a garage then leave it unlocked) Then if a tenants guest is injured and its not because you as a LL were careless or negligent and you have a policy that reflects that you no longer live in the house but rent it out. What makes you think you are liable to a tenants guest if say tenants guest trips over tenant owned personal property in the yard ? You know people can and do sue others for the strangest crap but wining is another thing, even your ins agent can tell you what products there are out there that a tenant can buy over and above a standard renters type of policy then ask. If there is you can require it in your lease too .

Because in this country, people are sue happy, even if something is their fault.
But you are correct, I contacted an online real estate attorny regarding lease/purchase,
and she said that I would be able to add "liability disclaimer" on the agreement, with
exceptions like If i was notified of pending danger, and I showed neglect, then
tenant would be able to take some type of action. You are right, people sue for dumb
things, and some dumb things can be tied up, and that is why it should be clear
in the agreement, so this whatever it maybe will be shut this down before it gets a
courtroom, and I can require them to provide renters policy, or they would be
in violation of their lease/agreement, and sometimes it is not even about a dumb
lawsuit, it can be more about litigation if it is not shut down fast, providing it is
something that I did not know, and is out of my control. So I will find atty, have
them review the contract, make changes (if case anything is out of date) and
add conditions to the lease agreement, and once this is done, I should be good to go....

 

[LdiJ]

If if find out anything, then I will post, maybe it will help someone else...
personally, I not sure why I should be liable past what tenant may
get from insurance; If injury should occur on property or (anywhere) then they should
have had health insurance, if death should occur on property or (anywhere)
then they should have had life insurance....

What I seem to be seeing here is that you have a somewhat irrational fear of being sued. If you have proper liability insurance and something happens that could actually, possibly be your fault, then your insurance company is responsible to defend you in any lawsuit. Death or injury on your property is only your fault if you did something (or neglected something) that was the cause of that death or injury.

 

[RedRockChicka]

What I seem to be seeing here is that you have a somewhat irrational fear of being sued. If you have proper liability insurance and something happens that could actually, possibly be your fault, then your insurance company is responsible to defend you in any lawsuit. Death or injury on your property is only your fault if you did something (or neglected something) that was the cause of that death or injury.

You could also be held liable as a landlord if you have knowledge of a potentially dangerous defect in the property or if you had reason to know of a potentially dangerous defect in the property. For your safety, have a home inspection done prior to having the tenants move in. Both you and the tenants should sign an acknowledgment of said inspection and the results. Maintain your homeowner's insurance policy, for as landlord, you are responsible for maintaining the premises in a habitable condition (meaning, depending on where you live, if the heater or AC goes out, or something goes wrong in the plumbing leaving your tenants without water, you're responsible for the repair. Check the Residential Landlord Tenant Act for your state to see what repairs you are liable for). In most jurisdictions, you as a landlord can also require your tenants to carry renter's insurance as well (in Arizona, for example, a requirement that tenants carry insurance appears in many residential leases, especially for leases in larger apartment complexes).

As others have said, there is no substitute for quality legal advice. Check your yellow pages for your local Legal Aid resources. Legal Aid can often offer you legal advice on a sliding fee basis. Good luck to you!