question about leases

[Sunkist123]

What is the name of your state? IA

I don't know if there's one standard answer to this or if everybody does it their own way, but there's something I've been puzzled about:
When an owner/landlord has a management company, and their manager was in charge of distributing leases, where did the lease originate- does the manager/management company draw up the leases, or does the owner/landlord do it?

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state? IA

I don't know if there's one standard answer to this or if everybody does it their own way, but there's something I've been puzzled about:
When an owner/landlord has a management company, and their manager was in charge of distributing leases, where did the lease originate- does the manager/management company draw up the leases, or does the owner/landlord do it?

I would expect the two parties to collaborate.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state? IA

I don't know if there's one standard answer to this or if everybody does it their own way, but there's something I've been puzzled about:
When an owner/landlord has a management company, and their manager was in charge of distributing leases, where did the lease originate- does the manager/management company draw up the leases, or does the owner/landlord do it?

I would think it could be either...although any LL who allows another company to draw up their lease agreements is, IMO, negligent.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? IA

I don't know if there's one standard answer to this or if everybody does it their own way, but there's something I've been puzzled about:
When an owner/landlord has a management company, and their manager was in charge of distributing leases, where did the lease originate- does the manager/management company draw up the leases, or does the owner/landlord do it?

The lease generally originates with/is drafted by the property owner (or his attorney) and the management company enforces the lease. There is a separate contract between the property management company and the property owner.

 

[adjusterjack]

I'd be more inclined to believe that property management companies use a standard lease form likely developed by a statewide property managers' association. Like this one:

https://ipropertymanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/7278/Standard-Iowa-Residential-Lease-Agreement-Template.pdf

Property owners that feel the need to hire property managers tend to rely on the property managers and don't want to know anything about what the property manager is doing as long as they get their money or until something goes wrong.

Owners that manage their own properties can find theses leases online, like I did, or create one of their own.

 

[Zigner]

Although a standard lease may be used, there will be specifics related to almost any property. A lease will require a collaboration.

 

[zddoodah]

When an owner/landlord has a management company, and their manager was in charge of distributing leases, where did the lease originate- does the manager/management company draw up the leases, or does the owner/landlord do it?

You're right. There is no standard answer to this question. In some cases, a landlord will have little or no experience or acumen in the business side of being a landlord and will hire a management company to handle everything, including preparation of leases. In other cases, the landlord will handle the business side of things and use a management company solely for property maintenance and repairs and as an agent to receive rent payments.

 

[quincy]

I'd be more inclined to believe that property management companies use a standard lease form likely developed by a statewide property managers' association. Like this one:

https://ipropertymanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/7278/Standard-Iowa-Residential-Lease-Agreement-Template.pdf

Property owners that feel the need to hire property managers tend to rely on the property managers and don't want to know anything about what the property manager is doing as long as they get their money or until something goes wrong.

Owners that manage their own properties can find theses leases online, like I did, or create one of their own.

That is not my experience - but I understand that experiences differ.

My wife and I own several rental properties and for years we managed them ourselves until our family grew, our jobs grew, and managing the rentals became too time-consuming. We hired a property management company. Although not exactly cheap, it was one of the smartest decisions we ever made.

Our leases were created with help from a real estate attorney. The contract we signed with the property management company was created by the property management company and “tweaked” by us.

I think standard agreements can be useful perhaps as a template but most need to be modified to meet the specific property, the laws/ordinances that apply to the property, and the specific needs of the property owner.

 

[Taxing Matters]

That is not my experience - but I understand that experiences differ.

I've seen both. The last apartment I was in was a large complex managed by a big property management company and used the standard lease that it uses for all the complexes it manages. The landlord simply turned over everything to the management company to do. But I've been in smaller apartments where the leases were written by an attorney for the landlord and the property manager was required to use those leases. I don't know of any statistics that would reveal which is more common. I don't think one way is tremendously more common than the other nationwide, though locally there may be more of a preference to do it one way or another.