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The documents on this site are the result of a 25-year collaboration between national trainer Robert Locke RMP, MPM and trial attorney Monica Gilroy as Crown Management navigated its way through the legal challenges of managing rentals in Atlanta. Monica’s expertise in real estate litigation (especially landlord/tenant and fair housing disputes) uniquely equipped her to write great property management agreements (PMA) that managers have been downloading and embracing for years. Over 65 managers (in 17 states) now use these documents and benefit from the experience of Robert and Monica.

The management agreement is the cornerstone of your business as it establishes your management style, lease format, Scope of Service, owner handbook, how safely you’ll operate and how much money you’ll make. It will drive every policy and process you operate by. A properly written PMA will protect you from the hazards of the business and make you scalable and profitable. A poorly written PMA will expose you to risks and prevent you from being scalable and from making the kind of money you should make. Have a customized agreement and you’ll get control of your business, find it simpler to run, have less conflict (litigation) and turn it into a money machine.

Starting with our document (or yours) we’ll help you craft a PMA exactly as it should be with all the CYA protections and revenue-generating strategies you need to become a successful and prosperous manager. We’ll help you shape the agreement to your model and state laws. We don’t leave you alone in this project but partner with you to have a document just as you want to operate and hand hold you through the entire process. We’ve been offering this document online for several years and over 100 managers (in 17 states) have adopted it.

This is much more than just the document. This is 35 years of experience wrapped up in documents (plus training videos) including all the proper disclosures to turn on the revenue streams and turn property management into a Cash Cow, CYA protections and things you didn’t even know you needed (and won’t even think about) until it’s too late.

We have spent tens of thousands of dollars with our lawyer over the last three decades perfecting and revising these documents. They have prevented countless lawsuits and disputes with owners and have made us tons of money (literally millions). You will too if you acquire these documents and put them to work in your business. Or, learn from your own experiences over the next 25 years, make your own mistakes and create your own war stories and documents. The choice is yours.

Our document was originally drafted in the mid 90’s by a large prominent real estate litigation firm in Atlanta, Georgia and attorney Monica Gilroy (a landlord/tenant litigator) has been tweaking, editing, updating, revising, and perfecting it for us ever since. Revisions have been driven by the ever changing license law, landlord tenant law, federal and state law and our experiences with over 9,000 tenants. It is undoubtedly the best CYA management agreement you could ever use and full of revenue-generating strategies.

What you get:

• A fully editable management agreement (PMA) that you will add your name to, make some dollar (and percentage) changes, and be up and running in a couple of hours. view a sample
• An example PMA completely filled in so you see what it should look like when you’re done.
• 27 studio-shot training videos (6 to 8 minutes each) covering every detail of the management agreement. View library of videos. This makes great training for your staff so you’re not doing it all yourself.

You’re not alone in this effort. Our mission is to help you customize this document (or help you tweak yours) to work in your model and in compliance with your state laws. We’ll collaborate with you to make sure it’s exactly what you need to be scalable and profitable in your market.

Think of this as what you might earn leasing two properties. Clients tell us they make up this cost in the first month or two of use because of the revenue streams they discover in the training.

Literally this will MAKE YOU MONEY … NOT COST YOU MONEY.

For 20 years attorney Monica Gilroy pushed us to keep the rental agreement short (like eight pages) because long documents are hard to defend in court. Some managers think they should have a 10-page lease (type size 8 to fit it all in) plus attach the application and exhibits, addendums, and incorporate the tenant handbook, the move in inspection and company policies into the original document making defending it quite impossible.

There are, however, some critical topics we need to address in detail to set expectations and protect yourself from tenant-driven lawsuits. These stand alone (Housekeeping) documents should be included with all leases to explain HOW you’re going to manage specific situations. Occasionally the home has special characteristics like a hot tub, an HOA community, roommates, or a co-signer and you’ll want a special document (Ancillary Documents) to address these unique situations as needed.

These documents and packages are available for FREE if you are participating in our Consulting With Documents. Click to View

The documents on this site are the result of a 25-year collaboration between national trainer Robert Locke RMP, MPM and trial attorney Monica Gilroy as Crown Management navigated its way through the legal challenges of managing rentals in Atlanta. Monica’s expertise in real estate litigation (especially landlord/tenant and fair housing disputes) uniquely equipped her to write great property management agreements (PMA) that managers have been downloading and embracing for years. Over 65 managers (in 17 states) now use these documents and benefit from the experience of Robert and Monica.

What you get in Module #1

• A fully editable management agreement (PMA) that you will add your name, make some dollar (and percentage) changes, and be up and running in a couple of hours. The authors’ training notes take up about 70% of the document. Although it starts out at 22 pages you’ll simply delete the instructor notes as you add your numbers and percentages to the document ending up with a killer PMA that’s only six pages.  View a sample
• We add a sample six page PMA, completely filled in, so you see what yours should look like when you’re done.

Because of their extensive experience in the business, this customized PMA (with instructor notes) is sufficient for many veteran managers. For others we also make available Module #2; a library of training videos on the PMA to help you strengthen your understanding of how to build a profitable management agreement. We go into detail regarding most stipulations in the agreement and explain why they are important. These videos address only owner (management agreement) issues and follow (and expands on) the customized PMA training notes in Module #1. See Module #2 https://www.trainingpropertymanagers.com/pma for more information.

You’re not alone in this effort. Our mission is to help you customize this document to work in your model. We’ll collaborate with you to make sure it’s exactly what you need to be scalable and profitable in your market.

These documents have been tweaked and perfected by attorney Monica Gilroy and veteran Robert Locke RMP, MPM and are usable in all states. Always run legal documents by your local attorney before you use them.

Video Training Example

This is a 25 page manual we developed over 35 years that guided us through a Law-Suit-Free Experience in processing our applicants. This manual guided our managers to treat all applicants properly as it related to credit scores, secondary income streams, no employment situations, retired applicant's, child support, no green card applicants, foreign nationals, disabled, roommates, recent foreclosures, special needs occupants, spouses with bankruptcies and more. The document is full of training notes and can be used for training your staff.

These documents and packages are available for FREE
if you are participating in our Consulting With Documents. Click to View

All the Resident Sign Up Documents (Packages 1-3) which includes documents 1-24. The price for buying each document individually would total $400.00, or you can purchase the complete package for $295.00 .

Buy Package #4: All the New Owner Sign-Up Documents (Packages 1-3) which includes documents 1-21. The price for buying each document individually would total $360.00, or you can purchase the complete package for $285.00 (Subscribers get another 20% off all Document Packages). We spent thousands of dollars developing these documents. You can have them for pennies on the dollar.

Package # 1, Package # 2, Package # 3

Buy Package #1: New Owner Sign-Up Housekeeping Documents (attach to all PMAs) which includes documents 1-9. The price for buying each document individually would total $150.00 or you can purchase the complete package for $125.00 (Subscribers get another 20% off all Document Packages). We spent thousands of dollars developing these documents. You can have them for pennies on the dollar.

1. Owner’s Homeowner Association Disclosure; 2. Mold / Mildew / Moisture Disclosure; 3. Establishing & Maintaining the Trust Account; 4. Personal Property Disclosure; 5. Owner’s Mortgage Disclosure; 6. W-9 Form; 7. Lead Paint and Flood Disclosure; 8. Authorization to Add Agent (property manager) as an Additional Insured.; 9. Personal Property Feature Disclaimer

Buy Package #2: New Owner Sign-Up Ancillary Documents (use them when appropriate) which includes documents 10-18. The price for buying each document individually would total $120.00 or you can purchase the complete package for $100.00 (Subscribers get another 20% off all Document Packages). We spent thousands of dollars developing these documents. You can have them for pennies on the dollar.

10. Limiting Smoking in the Lease; 11. Assessing the Habitability; 12. Things You Can’t Turn Over to Your Property Manager; 13. Power of Attorney; 14. Investor Management Agreement Addendum; 15. Hot Tub Exhibit to Management Agreement & Policy Statement; 16. Adding a Property to an Existing Management Agreement; 17. New Property/Owner Sign Up Checklist; 18. Special Pricing & Guarantees

Some won’t (or don’t want to) spend the money to get all the tools and training in this manual so we’re offering a shrunk-down version. If you want a basic framework for setting qualifying guidelines, a place to start, this shorter version of the full manual will give you a leg-up on the process. With this document you’ll be able to develop your own set of guidelines over time. This document (and training notes) will lay out what each credit score will require for approval, plus a chart laying out who should be managing the process for each category of applicant. You can use this do-it-yourself version and work through your own learning curves over time.
(this is a stand-alone document and Not Part Of A Package)

Owners often attempt to camouflage who the real owner is and create curtains to hide behind. To prevent themselves from being named in lawsuits they often hold title in a Limited Liability Company, land trust or family limited partnership making it hard for the public (and the property manager) to figure out how they should be receiving the money and who is making management decisions. Who signs the PMA isn’t always as simple as it looks when there is an entity involved.

What you get in Module #5

• An affidavit for a Limited Liability Company, land trust or family limited partnership for the signature of the one claiming to have the authority to sign for the entity. Under penalty of perjury the one claiming to have the authority in the entity documents will give you details on the entity and instructions on where to send the money. View the list of Entity Documents here
• A completed set of affidavits for each of the entities so you know what to put on each line of the affidavit.
• Training notes and videos for each entity so you’ll complete them just right and protect yourself from wiley owners trying to trick you.

These CYA documents are critical to your survival when managing for entities. Do your due diligence, have them execute the appropriate documents and protect yourself.

These documents have been crafted by attorney Monica Gilroy and are usable in all states. Always run legal documents by your local attorney before you use them.

This item is on sale until January 31st

Property managers often collaborate with the owner on approving and denying applications and need to make sure they don’t violate the tenant’s rights of privacy, or the Fair Credit Reporting Act, when doing so. Owners often bully new managers into thinking that they, the owner, require the tenant’s information so they can make a fully informed approval or denial decision. It is quite natural for owners to think they are in control and if the manager caves in and passes the tenants information to the owner, they could find themselves in serious trouble with the law. Owners are not accustomed to hearing real estate agents tell them “no” and often push hard to get the tenant’s information and remain in control. If you want to keep your license, keep from having a claim from the Federal Trade Commission (the enforcers of the Fair Credit Reporting Act) and spend lots of money in attorney fees defending yourself, you’ll learn to tactfully refuse the owner and do the job they hired you for, which includes keeping them out of trouble with the law. No matter what your model, there are some important rules you must follow when presenting applications to the owner. There is certain information you should never share with the owner under any conditions and some things you don’t want to miss passing over to them. Knowing the difference is the topic of this package. We’ll answer the question what’s the safe way to satisfy the owner’s appetite for information, without exposing yourself (and them) to violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, HUD, Americans with Disabilities Act, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and a host of other laws that govern the handling of the applicant’s personal information.  

Buy Package #3: New Owner Sign Up-Entity Documents (use them when appropriate) which includes documents 19-21. The price for buying each document individually would total $90.00 or you can purchase the complete package for $70.00 (Subscribers get another 20% off all Document Packages). We spent thousands of dollars developing these documents. You can have them for pennies on the dollar.

19. Certification of Trust; 20. Corporate Resolution; 21. Limited Liability Company Affidavit

Your cover letter, asking your current owners to execute and return your new agreement, is critical. Current owners will be suspicious and many will read it carefully. As we’ve helped managers do this over the past 15 years we’ve discovered eight ways to approach it. This package of documents and training videos will outline eight different strategies you might use to approach your current owners. We’ll address “when” to send them out, “how to respond to questions”, “how to deal with large or multiple family owners’ and other tips you’ll want to consider before you send out your new agreement. Do this just right and you’ll keep your current owners. Do it badly and you’ll lose some of them and create unnecessary chaos.

What you get in Module #7

Eight strategies (and draft letters) to choose from for best results. Training videos addressing exactly how and when to send them out and how to respond to questions. Because we’ve done this for other managers 60+ times we can help you avoid some of the mistakes we’ve seen.

These documents were created and tweaked by attorney Monica Gilroy and Robert Locke RMP, MPM and are usable in all states. Since you don’t sign them they are simply a Housekeeping Document. Always run legal documents by your local attorney before you use them.

To keep the PMA short, easy to get the owner to sign, and easy to defend in court you must keep all operational issues out of it. By including only legal issues you can shorten the agreement to six pages and make it easy to defend. However, there are some critical operational issues you’ll want every owner to understand and embrace during the onboarding process to protect yourself and prevent future litigation. For two decades Monica called these “Housekeeping Documents”. These documents are initiated by the owner to make sure they’ve read them and embraced them, yet, are not attached to the PMA (as an exhibit) from a contractual perspective. The protection for you is … you don’t sign them. Only the owner signs them so they are NOT part of the PMA or an exhibit or addendum. Yet, if there is litigation, they carry a ton of credibility in the courtroom. The language in them doesn’t need to clutter up the PMA document, yet, just above the owner’s signature it says “I’ve read this and agree to embrace it while under management with XXXXXXXXXX.” Like a lead-based paint disclosure they are simply housekeeping documents and expand on the legal protections already in the PMA.

At Crown, over the last two decades, we developed our Housekeeping Documents and have them in word format in this download (View the list). Your model is obviously different from ours so your final bundle of Housekeeping Documents will be different than ours. Your experience will make you hypersensitive to issues we’ve had no experience with like show removal, solar panels and pools. You’ll add and subtract to these documents over time as your model requires. The key reason you don’t want them tied to your PMA is ‘operation issues change frequently.’ You want a PMA that won’t need changes for many years to come yet have Housekeeping Documents you can change as you get smarter and things change in the business. The message is ‘stop tweaking your PMA’ and set yourself up to change operational issues whenever you like without cluttering up the PMA with minutiae.

Note: One of the benefits of using Housekeeping Documents is you can address fees and costs in them without having to clutter up the PMA. You get to spread out the fees by using this Housekeeping Documents strategy. Remember: you are not required to disclose all fees in the PMA. You are simply required to disclose them. It can be done in a Housekeeping Document because THEY acknowledge that document with their initials and therefore acknowledge the fees disclosed in that document.

What you get in Module #3

• Housekeeping Documents that can be downloaded in word format so you can add your company’s name and tweak them as you need to match your management model. View the list of HouseKeeping Documents here

These documents were drafted, and been tweaked, by attorney Monica Gilroy and Robert Locke RMP, MPM and are usable in all states primarily because they are not legal documents. Since you don’t sign them they are simply Housekeeping Documents the owner initials. Always run legal documents by your local attorney before you use them.

Robert and Monica shot over two dozen training videos to help managers grasp the essential strategies of this customized management agreement. This is an essential part of the managers training on building and managing this vital document. There are many elements of managing owners well and it’s hard to put it all in the management document (Module #1) itself. Two primary motives drive these training videos: Generating profits and protecting yourself from the natural liabilities that come with this business.Watch a sample video here

What you get in Module #2

Over two dozen studio-shot training videos (7 to 9 minutes each) covering every detail of the management agreement language and strategy. This makes great training for both you and your staff so you’re not doing it all yourself. View library of video titles.

Resident Sign Up Application Documents (use when qualifying residents) which includes documents 1-4. The price for buying each document individually would total $71.00, or you can purchase the complete package for $62.00 .

While all the Housekeeping Documents are signed by every owner every time, “Ancillary Documents” are only used when necessary and appropriate. A pool document isn’t needed all the time. A hot tub disclosure, multiple owner agreement, HOA disclosure, sprinkler system or security system disclosure is only needed when it’s appropriate. If you attempt to address all these possibilities all the time your PMA becomes grosely over written and a burden to manage as changes are frequently needed. We have a list of documents we developed for the owner but you’ll add more as your model requires. This download will give you a good start.

These documents were created and tweaked by attorney Monica Gilroy and Robert Locke RMP, MPM and are usable in all states. Since you don’t sign them they are simply a Housekeeping Document. Always run legal documents by your local attorney before you use them.

What you get in Module #4

• View the list of Ancillary Documents here

In this ‘studio shot training video’ we work through the Full Version of the qualifying guidelines one topic at a time. It’s arduous but any staff you’re trying to train for this process needs to hear the details .. maybe more than once. When training someone to do qualifying applicants they need this training and you protect yourself when you can say … “we were trained on this by our broker.” Real Estate commissioner's, owner’s and HUD love to see that you’ve done lots of training for this process.

When owners connect with property managers they bring preexisting relationships with them (third parties they have already established a relationship with where the owner is the customer). Examples might include relationships like mortgage companies, insurance carriers, pest control companies, weed control providers, HOA relationships, builder/home/appliance warranties, tax assessors, code enforcement officers, and many more. The problem is, the owner doesn’t know that you can’t take over those relationships because they are the owner’s pre-existing third party relationship.

Owners love to bully managers into taking on the management of those relationships because they are time consuming and often aggravating to deal with. They naturally think you are supposed to pick up the management of these relationships. After all, aren’t you the property manager? Isn’t that what they are paying for? They aren’t being mean, they just don’t know what a property manager does (and doesn’t do) for their fee so you need to educate them.

Owners naturally believe if it’s In the lease, it’s enforceable and will hold it against their manager if not enforced. Owners think you’re the expert and they are paying you to get it right and draft leases that are enforceable. It is incumbent on YOU to get it right and make it legal and enforceable or YOU are going to be blamed if it hits the fan.

This product includes the disclosure language to the owner and a training document for the manager and their staff regarding how and when to implement this document.

One of the property managers biggest challenges is “keeping owners out of maintenance issues.” Because they own the property they think they should have control over it and then owners try to control maintenance all kinds of bad things happen. In the early years of managing we felt owners needed to be involved with maintenance issues and as we scaled we figured out that their involvement created more chaos than we could stand. Our conclusion was “if we wanted to scale we had to Get Owners Out Of Maintenance.” Solving this challenge took some time, but ultimately we figured it out.

What you get in Module #9
With this package comes two crucial documents that Monica helped us prepare to “scare the bejesus out of the owner” and make them Want To Stay Out of Maintenance. And, training videos on exactly how to say this to the owner when onboarding and to retrain current owners to “stop trying to micromanage you.” Implement these strategies, documents and training videos and you’ll never fight this battle again.

These documents were created and tweaked by attorney Monica Gilroy and Robert Locke RMP, MPM and are usable in all states. Since you don’t sign them they are simply a Housekeeping Document. Always run legal documents by your local attorney before you use them.

Most managers have some kind of loosely stated warranties for their owners but many do not. Warranties are a great way to “add new benefits to the new management agreement” so current owners will be more likely to embrace it. We’ve put our owner warranties in writing for several decades and they’ve helped us win over and keep owners in our camp. There are rules (conditions) to warranties and if you don’t make those conditions clear you’ll stumble with warranties like we did for our first decade. Once you figured this out they became a great onboarding tool as well as a great way to get current owners to embrace your new management agreement.

What you get in Module #8

Over the decades we’re tweaked, deleted, revised and added warranties for our owners based on our experience with them. We’ve adopted warranties from other managers and presented them in different formats over the years. This is an evolving strategy and next year it won’t look the same as it will your first time. In this package we’ll receive several warranty formats along with training videos to address the “rules and conditions” for managing warranties. We’ll address “why you’ll not put warranties in your management agreement”, “how to use them to close the deal” and “how to use them to get your current owners to embrace your new management agreement.

These documents were created and tweaked by attorney Monica Gilroy and Robert Locke RMP, MPM and are usable in all states. Since you don’t sign them they are simply a Housekeeping Document. Always run legal documents by your local attorney before you use them.

We’ve all figured out that a home warranty is the curse to the property manager and yet owners still come to us with these already in place. What to do? When you discover one you need a document explaining how you manage home warranties and warn the owner that they can’t just pass them on to their property manager. Since THEY are the customer to the warranty company you need a disclosure document making it clear who’s doing what when it comes to communicating with the warranty company and how the warranty makes managing so much more difficult. When they insist on YOU managing it, you’ll need a limited power of attorney for them to execute so you have complete authority to manage the warranty claims while managing the property, AND the charges you’ll make when you have to manage the claims. This is a VERY BIG CYA issue and will naturally create lots of chaos so be sure you have the tools to manage it properly and profitably.

We’ve all figured out that a home warranty is the curse to the property manager and yet owners still come to us with these already in place. What to do? When you discover one you need a document explaining how you manage home warranties and warn the owner that they can’t just pass them on to their property manager. Since THEY are the customer to the warranty company you need a disclosure document making it clear who’s doing what when it comes to communicating with the warranty company and how the warranty makes managing so much more difficult. When they insist on YOU managing it, you’ll need a limited power of attorney for them to execute so you have complete authority to manage the warranty claims while managing the property, AND the charges you’ll make when you have to manage the claims. This is a VERY BIG CYA issue and will naturally create lots of chaos so be sure you have the tools to manage it properly and profitably.

For asset protection purposes many owners will title their property into a trust. When you see this in the tax records, or on the title page of their deed, you need to remember ‘an individual’s signature on your management agreement is not adequate documentation.’ You can be accused of malpractice or incompetence if you don’t get the listing/management agreement right. Claims from someone that “I’m the real owner behind the scenes, take your instructions from me” isn’t good enough when the title is in an entity or trust. It’s your job to ‘get it right’ and there is no closing attorney to look over your shoulder protecting you from documentation errors or fraud. You need a Certification of Trust, with a signature, witness and notary for your file to protect yourself when things go south and you have an issue with an owner or tenant. Make sure you’re dealing with the right person, with the right authority, and sending the money to the right account before you take on the property titled in a trust. There’s a lot of money at stake and people get real mad when it goes to the wrong account. Make them fill out this certification and swear, in front of a notary, they are the person you can trust for ownership decisions for the trust.

Protecting yourself from tenants starts with including some precise disclosure language in the rental application. Tenants must be told that you intend to investigate their background and may include residency, employment, military, government databases, personal and professional references, social media, character, records of attendance and earned degrees or certificates and more. You need to be point-blank and tell them that by executing the application they are authorizing you to not only check out the information they give you, but share said information to third parties you work with that have a legitimate right to it, plus, contribute to those databases your experience with the tenant. You must protect yourself. You need to cover yourself on many issues before the tenant moves in, during their stay and after they move out.

The consumer protection laws (Fair Credit Reporting Act) are designed to protect consumers (tenants) with regard to who has access to their information, as well as who we (the property manager) can share that information with. If you don’t get the tenant’s authorization to investigate (and pass on) their personal information you’ll expose yourself to both FCRA claims as well as civil claims for damages and attorney fees. You must protect yourself.

Once they’ve completed the application it’s impossible to go back and ask them to execute this special protection language so this language needs to be on the last page of the application, just before their signature line.

Note: In 2016 I was hired by the Atlanta law firm of Weissman Nowack Curry & Wilco as an expert witness in a federal discrimination case against a local property manager with this kind of language in their application. Because they protected themselves with language like this, it will be easy to get him off the hook in the claim as long as their practices match their qualifying guidelines.

Investors often hold title in a land trust, limited liability company, family limited partnership or a corporation camouflaging who the real owner is behind the curtain. It’s not safe just to take them at their word as some are wiley and will trick you as to who the true owner really is. Properly identifying who the actual owner is (or who has authority to sign for the entity) is often a challenge for a property manager. Closing attorneys are good at this but generally you don’t have one to help you figure it out. Before you begin managing the property held in some entity, you need clarification. This document helps clarify ownership and who is authorized to execute documents and receive money on behalf of the entity. 

Owners will forget to tell you about HOA requirements and restrictions regarding leasing in their managed communities. This document has been created in 1996 due to the ever increasing dangers we faced leasing in aggressive HOA-managed communities. Owners forget to tell managers about special signage requirements, special forms the tenant needs to sign, special permits needed to lease in the community and these issues can get managers in all sorts of fistfights. HOA’s are booting tires when dues are not paid, dismantling entry keys to pools and evicting tenants over continuous rule violations and managers need to protect themselves from these HOA (or owner caused) hazards. Managers are getting sued by tenants over loss of right to quiet enjoyment, wrongful dispossessory, harassment and constructive eviction when the HOA’s begins to bare down on them. Managers need a document to protect themselves when owners forget to disclose the presence of an aggressive HOA and the requirements of tenant rules in the community. (You also need to have the tenant sign a document preventing them from suing you if the HOA does them wrong. See our Tenant CYA section for a list of documents to protect yourself in these situations). This is one of the most toxic and litigious battle ground of management exposure in today’s rental market and owners need to notify (and indemnify) managers for the fallout from these issues. HOA’s have hugh power over the owner, and ultimately you, regarding what happens in their communities and they love to wield it without mercy. Don’t get caught up in the fines, assessments and debates without having this protection from the owner.

One of the huge risks managers bare today is renting a property, move the family in, then watching as it goes into foreclosure and the tenant gets evicted by the lender. We’ve had it happen more than we’d like to admit. If you don’t protect yourself you will get sued by the tenant for violation of your promise of quiet enjoyment, unlawful dispossessory or constructive eviction. When the owner signs this document they are promising the mortgage is current; if it goes into foreclosure they will notify you immediately (not that it will help any), and (here is the big one) they will pay your attorney fees if you get sued by the tenant over the foreclosure issues. Don’t make the mistake of thinking, “if the owner loses the home in a foreclosure they won’t have any money to defend you, so why go through the effort.” Wrong!!! Many landlords have great credit, own their own home, have good paying jobs and will still let their rentals go into foreclosure. Don’t think they are broke just because they let the rental go back to the bank. Having them defend you is good protection and they will sign this without question if they think they will not be foreclosed on. If they hesitate signing this you should be suspicious and do more research. Get this signed up front and protect yourself from the carnage of a foreclosure.

Owners love to leave personal property behind thinking it will still be there when they return. It seldom is and guess who they want to hold responsible for protecting and managing it? YOU of course. No matter what you say to them, they think you should be the guardian of their stuff, and see to it that it gets returned in good shape. Protect yourself. Take yourself off the hook in advance and make it clear ‘you’re not the manager of their personal property.’ For years we tried to accomplish this with a stip in the management agreement but it didn’t work. You need to draw their special attention to this Issue and this document accomplishes that. This document tells them to take their personal property out or don’t expect to see it ever again. They will leave stuff locked in a closet in the basement and expect you to manage it as well. They will expect you to manage the water leaks and mold on their stuff in their Owner’s Closet and blame you when the rodents find their way in. Make it clear you’ll list items they leave behind but they can’t hold you accountable when it turns up missing or broken.
Note: when the sheriff and his boys start tossing out the tenant’s stuff they seldom ask “is this yours, or the owners.” You need this document to protect yourself.

For one reason or another we often ask for the tenant to find someone to stand with them on the lease. You’re looking out for your owner and adding security to the lease. When there is a co-signor you need a document for them to sign promising to pay what the tenant left owing when they vacate. This is their personal guarantee for the tenant’s obligations under the lease. We get co-signors on about 20% of our leases and it works like a charm. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Let our mistakes make it easier for you. You can figure this out on your own, develop a document and tweak it over time, or have it today.

Many owners think you are their asset Manager and should take care of everything that has anything to do with their property. You need to make it clear that there are things you can’t (and shouldn’t) take charge of including things like their mortgage, insurance, HOA, utilities, Home Warranties and more. Make it clear up front that you are the property manager and what that doesn’t include. You will eliminate confusion and improve communication if you make this clear before you take on their property. This document begins the process of limiting what the owner expects you to do for your fees. Owner’s love to ask you to manage their HOA’s, Home Warranties, Utilities and more. If you don’t begin this push-back ‘up front’ to put a limit on these requests or demands, you’ll fight with the owner on exactly what it is you do for the fees they pay. They love to ask, “what am I paying you for anyway” meaning ‘you should manage everything that remotely touches their property.’ This document begins that ‘limiting’ discussion. (This is a shorter version of the document posted above called Asset Manager vs Property Manager)

This is a big CYA document. If the HOA does something drastic like booting the tenant’s car, disconnect the water, sue the tenant for rent because the owner hasn’t paid his dues or threatened to evict the tenant you need to be protected from litigation. The owner will ignore the HOA to get it leased and you’ll deal with the battles when the HOA wakes up to the reality that there is a new tenant in the community. You want the tenant holding you harmless when the HOA can’t open the pool or tennis courts because not enough owners have paid their dues. You need to protect yourself against the possibility of being sued for constructive eviction, wrongful dispossessory, loss of quiet enjoyment or harassment by the HOA. Tenants want to blame the property manager for everything no matter whose fault it is. If the owner fails to keep current with the HOA it can create chaos between you and the tenant so prevent it with this document and protect yourself.

Most management agreements are not set up for four or five owners to sign. When you are dealing with multiple owners you need a way of identifying each of them and more importantly, who the contact person is for you. If you don’t have a spokesperson, you’ll create chaos figuring out who to listen to as they argue about who’s in control. Properly identifying who is on title (or who has authority to speak for the owners) is often a challenge for a property manager. Before you attempt to manage a property with multiple owners, be sure to get all their information and some identification as to who the spokesperson is. This document helps clarify multiple ownership and who’s speaking for the owner(s).

We tried many times to add a special stipulation for security deposit installments but couldn’t get judges to enforce it. The note was the answer as judges understand promissory notes.

We often get more than one month’s rent as a security deposit. Depending on their credit, we will agree to take installments on a portion of that deposit. We did it poorly for many years and struggled with getting judges to enforce our documents. We finally went to our attorney and paid to get it right. Now we are able to enforce this document and evict for failure to pay as agreed. It’s not 100% but we are successful 85% of the time. Taking installments on the deposit probably needs the owner’s approval depending on your model.

Owners frequently want you to put a ‘non smoking stipulation’ in the lease to prevent tenants from stinking up their property. Managers have learned ‘you never to add a stipulation to a lease you have no system in place to monitor it and really can’t enforce,’ and a non-smoking stipulation is one of them. If the owner insists, you need to have them sign a disclosure that although you’ll accommodate them and add it to the lease, there is no way to enforce it. Make sure they don’t have a case against you for failure to enforce a lease that You Can’t Enforce, when the tenant violates the stipulation and leaves smoke smells throughout the property. This provides a way to give them what they want but protect yourself when it doesn’t work.

You’ll need a form for the owner to describe all the features of their property including number of bedrooms, baths, schools, community amenities, which appliances are included, utilities included and other features. Don’t let them ‘push this off on you.’ If there is an error they will blame YOU and THEY should have the information in THEIR files. Often you’ll advertise a property with a washer/dryer and the owner will take it, leaving you to buy one for the tenant (or other crazy things like this). We’ve made the mistake many times of identifying the wrong schools, listing the microwave when the owner takes them, forgetting that the security system was the tenant's expense and so on. There are lots of ways to screw this up so make the owner complete it. There is more than one way to do this. This format is sufficient for most rental houses but will need to be tweaked by you to fit your model.

Tell your owner/client clearly about your trust account requirements and how your state law regulates the management of those funds. NEVER cover their expenses and send them an invoice or you’ll be bankrolling them forever. Make it clear they need to pre-fund maintenance, maintain a minimum account balance (owner reserve) and keep all trust accounts positive. Let them know you will be depositing all funds you receive into a trust account and report to them monthly. This disclosure takes care of all those issues and gives you a document to point back to when they resist depositing money with you before you pull the trigger on normal maintenance and turnkey projects. This is often hard to manage because owners want to stay in control. They want to pay off an invoice, after the job is done, and they verify it. After the job is done is never the time to argue about money. Set this up right and you’ll have no trouble with the administration of your owner’s trust account. Make it clear that you intend to follow the licensing and trust account laws of your state and they need to embrace and cooperate with that effort or find another manager. You are no different than a bank, brokerage house or sales company. You must follow the rules of your licensing bureau and ‘having the money in the owners trust account BEFORE you order the work’ is part of that compliance issue.

Any moisture issues the owner has had in (and around) the property, in the past five years, needs to be disclosed to the tenant before they take possession. You need to notify the tenant if the owner has had a flood, leak, mold, water damage etc. Failure to disclose this can have serious consequences and we’ve fought several battles with tenants over this disclosure. Make sure the owner signs this and have the tenant sign a copy before they move in. Tenants get irate when they discover ‘the owner had moisture/mold issues and wet basement with previous tenants’ (or while they lived there) and feel deceived when it’s not disclosed before they took possession. When tenants feel tricked or deceived they talk to lawyers. The manager usually ends up being blamed by the tenant and ends up sharing in their moving costs. Owners don’t think to tell you ‘unless you ask’ so be sure to make an issue out of this. We’ve been burned more than once over this failure to ask, and get hold harmless agreements from the owner. You can use the same owner signed original over and over again so ‘don’t use the original.’ Make copies for future tenants to execute. (Don’t miss the sister document for the tenant signs in the Tenant CYA section)

When roommates move in together make sure you get them on a separate document outlining your requirements for roommates. Remind them you’ll only take one rent check (not three) and that you’ll only cut one check back to them after move out. Advise them you’ll never drop anyone off the lease whether they still live there or not. Roommates love each other when they move in but like other community living arrangements, often fall apart over time. Make sure there are plenty of fees. Roommates can be high maintenance so make sure you’re getting paid well to put up with them.

Houses built before 1978 often used lead paint which has been discovered to be toxic and a serious health hazard. Federal law requires that you have the owner and tenant sign this to disclose the presence of (or lack of) this poison in the home. The owner signs this document to reveal any knowledge they have regarding any lead paint in their home. Copy the original the owner signs and have every tenant sign a copy before you move them in. Use the same original over and over. Just have the tenant sign a copy and keep it with other important tenant documents.

There needs to be an enforceable document that lets the tenant know they are approved and lists the terms of the lease and who to contact. This identifies the start date, move-in date, rent, deposits, fees, utility companies and other critical data for their occupancy. It puts their deposit at risk and identifies what happens if they change their mind. If you get the lease signed immediately, you probably don’t need this. We don’t get the lease signed until 3-4 days before move-in so we use this to “lock them in” without having to sign the lease immediately. We purposely delay executing the lease because we’ve had some tenants request the lease in advance and back out over something they don’t like (fees, charges, etc). For us it is a 2-step process. The Official Notice of Approval commits them and gets the first month’s rent. Then, close to the move-in date when they are less likely to back out, we execute the lease.

We’ve all figured out that wiring the owner their monthly disbursement is the way to go to make property management efficient. This is a nickel-dime business so developing SPEED is critical to making it work financially. Sometimes these documents lack the ability to withdraw from the owner’s account when you need money to clear up a negative escrow balance or pay for an outstanding vendor invoice. Written properly, this document is real power when you need to disburse money or extract money from the owner.

Some tenants like visuals (an easy reminder) so here’s a chart of who is responsible for what. It’s all in the lease but is often not read. This is something they can tape to their refrigerator to remind them of what they can call you for and what they need to take care of themselves. We like it simple and this makes it simple.

When a tenant previews a property and sees a security system it is reasonable that they expect it to be up and running when they move in, and that it is included in the rent. You need to dispel that expectation and protect yourself from the liabilities of what happens if it fails. This is a CYA document letting the tenant know that it is their responsibility to deal with the monitoring system and the cost belongs to them. You are not making any representations as to its reliability, its functionality or its cost and they agree to hold you harmless if the system does not function properly.

Add this page when you want to make fee changes in your PMA for an investor. Don’t make changes in the property management agreement. This document will get the job done without diluting all the protection laid out in your property management agreement.

If you deny an applicant (or change the terms of the offer) the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires you notify the applicant of the denial and inform them of the source of the information you used to make your decision. This letter follows federal law and notifies the applicant accordingly. Failure to send this will subject you to numerous violations of the FCRA and the fines they assess for violators. We give you several options in this package.

When you know the tenant is in the military, or works for a military support company, and qualifies for a military out clause in their lease, you want to make sure they don’t take advantage of the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act. They have requirements to fulfill and just saying they’re being transferred and you can’t hold them to the lease doesn’t cut it. This document lays out the rules for military release of tenancy without your giving up your rights.

Tenants think it’s a toy but owners know they require some maintenance. Tenants will let water levels get too low, burn out motors, let the water turn green, turn them into fish ponds, and use them as a place to store trash.

The last thing you want is to suggest to a tenant the hot tub will stay hot or keep working. Disclose your lack of knowledge with hot tub maintenance and your general unfamiliarity with how they work. Put the entire burden on them and warn them about the dangers of it getting too hot and someone getting burned. You may even require they get renter’s insurance with you (and the owner) as additional insured. See our document on the owner sign up documents for the other side of the hot tub issue.

This is a 3-page educational piece developed over the years to protect the owner from claims of mold and claims of health issues. Give it to your residents to prepare them to deal with issues of mold. It prevents them from claiming mold the last month they are there or because they want a way out of the lease without paying the early termination fees. You want to be able to tell the judge “we did everything we could to prepare the resident to address these issues before they moved in.” It puts the burden on them to report mold. Not 2 years after it’s discovered but within 2 days.

You should articulate exactly what maintenance issues the tenant is responsible for in writing. This document addresses the nuisance items you are trying to prevent like after hours maintenance, missed appointments, flipping GFI switches, resetting garbage disposals, changing out all light bulbs and other nickel-dime nuisance maintenance items. We’ve learned the precise balance between pushing off habitability issues to them (which you must not do) and holding them responsible for nuisance maintenance calls.

Owners frequently ask, “how do you prevent/manage tenant’s request to complete unnecessary repairs and running up the owner’s tab?” This document will help answer that question.

You want to be sure every tenant signs a pet exhibit so every detail is covered. Don’t try to cover this in the lease as it stretches it out. If they have a pet you want them to tell you breed, weight, color and name so they don’t sneak in a different one. You also want to remind them of the six things they need to do after move-out to get their deposit back. If they don’t have a pet you need to remind them of the costs, penalties and process you’ll go through if you discover a pet. Let them know there are serious penalties if they get caught with an unauthorized pet.

Every tenant screening company has a rental application. We do too.

Often a property is held in a Limited Liability Company (LLC) for asset protection or to hide the identity of the real owner. Many investors use this strategy to mask who the owner is. Hiding title is a popular form of creating anonymity and this often confuses the property manager. Don’t become one of the tricked ones in the long list of owners wishing to remain anonymous. It’s your job as the licensed professional to get the paperwork right or you’ll pay a stiff price for failing to. You have no closing attorney to figure this out for you so you must do it yourself. Require the one claiming to be in charge to complete and execute this LLC affidavit and keep it in your records. These documents will protect you when things go wrong and they are simple to fill out. Get the person claiming ownership (or signing authority) to complete it, execute it in front of a witness and notary for your protection. You’ll sleep better knowing you have crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s.

Every builder, bank, developer, REIT (and many private owners) hold title to their property in a Corporation. It’s your job to get the paperwork right or you’ll pay a price if you skip over this because you don’t know what to do. Require the one claiming to be in charge to complete and execute a corporate resolution. People working out of a corporation know this is expected so don’t disappoint them. They had to execute one of these to open a bank account, get an EIN number and take title of the property. These documents will protect you when things go wrong and they are simple to fill out. Get the person ‘claiming ownership’ (or signing authority) to complete it, execute it, get a witness and notary for your protection and stick it in your file for safe-keeping. You’ll sleep better knowing you have crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s.

Managers should be slow to change their PMA as the new-year rolls around. If you’re going to add some kind of special pricing or guarantees for the upcoming year do it as an exhibit to the agreement rather than changing your basic document. Don’t change the basic agreement unless you’re really making global permanent changes. Resist changing the original document for anyone. Think globally and clarify your adjustments on a separate document. Be slow to change the basic PMA. This document will be added to your PMA as an exhibit and detail any alterations you want to make to the PMA.

Don’t change your management agreement for anyone. Leave all the language as it is, even when you want to cut a deal with an investor / negotiator / bank / large player. Use an addendum and attach it to the management agreement with whatever changes you want to make. There are strong protections in a well crafted PMA and you don’t want to tinker with the basic language. Here is the right document to make your changes to fees etc. It modifies the management agreement without carving it up. You don’t want another party crossing out important language in the original document because it’s hard to figure out what to leave, how it’s going to affect the whole agreement and erode important protections for you. Add this page, make specific changes and leave the basic document alone. This document will get the job done without diluting all the protection laid out in your property management agreement.

When you deny someone or change the offer (like requiring more security deposit) you MUST send this official notification disclosing the source of the information you used to bring you to your conclusion about them. This is required Every Time you deny an application or change the terms of your approval.

Occasionally the house is not clean enough, repairs have not been completed, utilities aren’t on, carpets didn’t get cleaned or the handy man (or owner) didn’t clean up their mess. You have 2 options: don’t move in today and give some time to correct the problem or move in today but don’t hold it against us. This document takes all the air out of them by saying they shouldn’t take the property now but try again in a couple of days so you can correct the issue. Many can’t wait and will press to take it “as is”. There’s a downside to letting them do so. This document says they need it today and agree to not hold it against you. This document allow tenants to take a property that is not ready.

Clearly state the fines they pay if utilities are off at move out or have a balance due with the utility company when they leave the property. Give them the utility company name and phone number to help them get service turned on before move in. Also, outline your property visit policy including surprise visits when there is cause to believe there is a problem.

Whether you do the assessment, or have staff do it, you need a checklist (and training document) to use when visiting a prospective property to access whether or not you want to manage it. We’ve been asked to lease houses that have been vacant for years and owners think ‘they were ok when they last saw them so they should be find today. This package has two parts. A training write-up addressing the issues of ‘it’s your job to examine the property and tell the broker whether we want it or not’ as well as ‘the actual checklist for the inspection.’ Someone needs to methodically walk the property and conscientiously look for things that would keep you from managing it as a rental, and/or list the things that need to be addressed before you’ll start marketing. This is a long list of things to watch out for including things like dead trees or tree limbs hanging over the home, deep ditches around the home, open holes in the yard that can hurt children, mildew on siding, damp basements, three story decks, missing electrical plates and more. Unlike sales listings, you don’t just say ‘yes’ to every owner that calls. Protect yourself and prevent claims from tenants of negligence regarding habitability issues. This is about protecting yourself from owners who don’t care or don’t understand the issues of safety and habitability.

This two-sided document is CYA by introducing (and counting) the number of smoke detectors in the property and addressing renters insurance. You want to document that there are smoke detectors and remind them you provide them but they have charged batteries in them. It also reminds them the owner’s insurance doesn’t cover their personal belongings. We don’t require renters insurance but we do inform them of the need to get coverage. They sign this at move in, documenting the discussion so they can’t blame you if something happens to their contents.

Never manage a rental unless the owner/client adds your company name to their landlord policy as an additional insured. This is standard practice for the insurance companies and will do it at no cost to your client. When this authorization is signed by the owner you’ll send it to their insurance agent who will add you on the policy and send you a declaration page (Dec Page) evidencing your coverage. Don’t manage the property without it. Other managers understand this and so does the insurance carrier. It’s the owner that is new to this process. Don’t let the owner talk you out of it. E&O policies and General Liability policies for property managers often mandate that this is in place or your coverage is diminished (or voided). You’re not covered for property damage because you don’t own the property. You’re just covered for liability when someone is caught in a fire, falls off the deck or drowns in the tub. We’ve had all these things happen and the owner’s policy covered us instead of our GL policy. Make it clear to the owner that insurers understand this and will add you without cost.

This document helps clarify ownership, who’s speaking for the owner(s) (or entity). This is a data-collection form.

Pay close attention to this as it is the topic of debates and litigation. Make sure you’re on the right side of this and disclose, train, warn and follow up. This document is both a training piece and a CYA regarding the claims of mold, what they have to do and how you’ll respond if they feel there is more than the normal moisture in the property.

Every office needs to develop an internal tracking form to assure all the owner sign up documents are in the file and all the issues have been addressed. This is a checklist for the staff person to use to make sure utilities are on, keys are located, rental comps have been pulled and every owner document is signed, dated and in the file. You will tweak this to your model and your’s will evolve over time. It will remind you of seldom used documents you’ll miss without this kind of checklist. This is a great way to get started.

Often you will have a client with an ever growing list of properties to manage like builders, banks, large investors and REIT’s. We use to execute a new management agreement with each new property. That process was laborious, generated way too much paper and was certainly time consuming. Our attorney drafted a simple document that allows us to ‘add a new property to an existing management agreement’ and avoid all the duplication. This simplifies the process and saves you from over-documenting each transaction. Owners love it as it saves them from having to go through a completely new set of documents each time they give you a new property. You still need separate housekeeping documents, like lead paint and a features page, but you save time by just adding new properties to an existing document. I recommend just copying the original management agreement to the new file and attaching this addendum. You may want to add a special stipulation to the original management agreement that anticipates future additions like “this agreement will be sufficient for future properties to be added by the owner by the execution of a separate addendum.”

Hot tubs can be a nightmare for property managers. Most managers have concluded they won’t manage pools for obvious reasons, while many have decided to manage hot tubs under certain conditions. We’ve done both and have concluded we will manage hot tubs but only under certain conditions. This training document (and exhibit to the management agreement) covers these conditions including insurance coverage with a hot tub warranty or rider, releases of liabilities from the owner plus protections for the manager from bad repairmen. Manage them if you want but do it with the appropriate protections for you and your company. (see our tenant CYA document packages for the tenant hot tub document).

When you think a file is complete let a staff person fill out a checklist of documents that need to be in the file. Change this to fit your system but be sure to have one.

In our model the tenant signs a move-in inspection and this checklist. We want them to testify that the window locks work as do the door locks; the smoke detectors are working (they never check them); and how many keys and garage door openers they received. This has items on it we’ve missed up over the years and don’t want to miss them again. We do 40 move-ins per month and we’ll get it wrong if we don’t have this checklist. It keeps growing as we continue to learn and it will evolve as you evolve. This also serves as a report to the owner of any deferred maintenance that needs attention and documents both urgent and not so urgent needs.

Houses built before 1978 often had lead in the paint which has been discovered to be toxic and a serious health hazard for kids under 8 and pregnant women. Federal law requires that you have the owner and tenant sign this to disclose the potential presence of (or lack of) this poison in the home. The owner signs this document to reveal to you (and the tenant) any knowledge they have regarding any lead paint in their home. Copy the original the owner signs and have every tenant sign (a copy) before you move them in. Use the same original over and over. Just have the tenant sign a copy and keep it with other important tenant documents.

Every one of these documents is the result of getting burned, blamed, fined or fired for something we either didn’t do right or didn’t disclose adequately. You can have your attorney draft each of these documents and tweak them over the next 10 years as you go through your learning curves, or, download them and be up and running instantly. It’s not a matter of IF you’ll need them, but WHEN. Protecting Yourself is a full time effort in property management.

Every office needs to develop an internal tracking form to assure all the owner sign up documents are in the file and all the issues have been addressed.

To develop consistency and supervisory oversight in our qualifying procedures we developed a chart to identify who an application needs to go to in the office for review. We let assistant managers approve certain applications, managers another group, senior managers another and only the broker could approve certain applications. For example, we wouldn’t let an assistant property manager approve someone with a 500 credit score, a comfort pet, a past bankruptcy, a co-signer, a quick move in, multiple pets or a recent eviction without senior staff involvement. There were things only the broker could approve in our system, usually because they had a greater chance of developing some kind of conflict. We developed this internal tool to manage the application process and make sure the better trained staff had an opportunity to approve or deny the harder applications. As you grow your staff this tool becomes more and more important to your qualifying process.

When the owner leaves behind their lawn furniture, pool table, tractor, or counter top microwave you need a form to list everything and language that has the tenant promising to leave it behind when they vacate. There is little you can do to protect the owner from this stuff walking away but the owner wants you to make an effort. This document fulfills that duty to the owner and hopefully the tenant will remember what isn’t theirs and leave it behind.

Often you’ll find yourself in a situation where ‘one of the owners wants you to deal with the other one’ and not be involved in any decisions. Or, you’ll be receiving orders from several owners and you’ll want to ‘reduce the confusion and designate one to do all the talking.’ Managing for two or three owners is often chaotic like kids listening to two parents who don’t agree. A power of attorney is the solution and they are easy to fill out. This is one our attorney crafted years ago just for owners to identify ‘who is doing the talking’ or ‘I’m traveling a lot, take orders from my brother.’ You don’t want to follow those instructions without a document protecting yourself if the designate does something stupid and makes a bad decision for the owner. When in doubt you’ll be blamed for listening to the wrong person and take the hit for the consequences. Get it in writing. Use a POA. They are simple to complete and will cover you when things go wrong.

What Landlords Must Know about Service Animals

The Federal Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), and the Washington State Law Against Discrimination all require that applicants and tenants with disabilities be provided with “reasonable accommodations” as needed in order for them to have an opportunity for full use and enjoyment of their housing. Allowing tenants and their guests who have disabilities to be accompanied by their service animals is a reasonable accommodation to housing policy and practice.

What Every Landlord Needs to know about Fair Housing Laws

Both federal, state and city Fair Housing laws apply to most residential housing situations. You need to learn these laws and understand how they impact your decisions as a landlord. This overview will help a landlord and their agent learn to make the correct decision when faced with some confusing situations that may impact fair housing laws. The following are some general guidelines and the most frequently asked questions. This document holds the primary 15 questions and answers which property managers ask on this issue.

U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division: Disability Rights Section

This is a government provided document for Landlords to understand the new rules regarding service animals. It is a must read and should be downloaded, read and understood by every landlord in America. This is not a support document, this is the primary document provided by the government's civil rights division.

The IRS requires that you report to them (with a copy to your owner) at the end of every year, regarding how much rent you collected from the tenant on their behalf. Your report is due to the IRS before January 31st and the penalties against YOU for failure to report are substantial. This is the document the owner signs acknowledging this report and your requirement to send it to the IRS. Make sure they sign it or you will have a very unhappy owner when you do your reporting.