What To Do After a Tenant Signs Their Lease, Our Move-In Process

So, the lease is signed, the confetti’s basically falling, and then… what? If you’ve ever found yourself scrambling three days before move-in trying to remember whether you actually collected the security deposit, this episode is for you. Kevin and I are walking you through exactly what to do after a tenant signs their lease, starting with the money you need in hand before you ever hand over a key, and the one rule we refuse to break, no matter how much we like a new tenant.

We’re also getting into our pre-move-in walkthrough process, including a California law that changed how many photos we now take of every single unit, and why it’s actually in our best interest, even though it felt like a hassle at first.

Plus, I’m sharing what’s inside our welcome email and our tenant unit binder, the small welcome gift we leave for every new tenant, and a story about a garbage disposal habit that cut our repair calls almost to nothing.

And toward the end, we give an honest, unsponsored rundown of the landlord software platforms people ask us about most, so you can decide what’s actually worth paying for.

Hit play, because by the end of this episode, you’ll have a repeatable process for everything that happens between signing day and move-in day.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• The exact order of operations for funds, documentation, and rent setup after a lease is signed

•  The one rule we never break, no matter how much we like a new tenant

•  Why California now requires landlords to photograph every unit before, during, and after a tenancy

•  What’s inside our welcome email and tenant unit binder

•  The simple habit that’s cut our garbage disposal repair calls to almost nothing

•  An honest, unsponsored comparison of Innago, TurboTenant, DoorLoop, and RentRedi

Episodes & Resources Mentioned

Episode 8: Our Best Tips for a Smooth Tenant Move-In

Episode 26: Welcome Gifts — Why They’re Important for Your Rental Property Business

Episode 67: Renters Insurance — What Every Landlord Needs to Know

Episode 123: Landlord Systems — The Unit Binder

FREE Move-In / Move-Out Inspection Form

BLOG: 10 Things Tenants Need to Know at Move-In

BLOG: The What and Why of Move-In and Move-Out Inspections 

Innago: Completely FREE landlord management software

TurboTenant: Great landlord management software for newer landlords

RentRedi: Management software that syncs with QuickBooks Online

DoorLoop: The best landlord management software for larger portfolios

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🤳Text Us: 650-489-4447

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Transcript

Introduction - What to Do After a Tenant Signs Their Lease

Stacie 0:00

Okay, so the lease is signed. Your tenant's excited, you're excited, and that's usually where most landlords stop paying attention. But that moment is actually when your risk goes up, not down. In this episode, we're walking through exactly what has to happen between signing the lease and the actual move-in day. Things like the money you need in hand before you ever hand over a key, the walkthrough that protects you as time goes on, and the one rule we never break no matter how much we like that new tenant.

Speaker 0:42

Welcome to Your Landlord Resource Podcast. Many moons ago, when I started as a landlord, I was as green as it gets. I may have had my real estate license, but I lacked confidence and the hands-on experience needed when it came to dealing with tenants, leases, maintenance, and bookkeeping. After many failed attempts, fast-forward to today, Kevin and I have doubled our doors and created an organized, professionally operated rental property business. Want to go from overwhelmed to confident? If you're an ambitious landlord or maybe one in the making, join us as we provide strategies and teach actionable steps to help you reach your goals and the lifestyle you desire, all while building a streamlined and profitable rental property business. This is Your Landlord Resource Podcast.

Stacie 1:31

Hey, landlords. Welcome back to the Your Landlord Resource Podcast. This is a podcast where we help you run your rental like the confident professional landlord you already are, even on the days you feel like you're just winging it.

Kevin 1:45

Which, come on, let's be honest, is most days.

Stacie 1:49

Yeah, well, for sure most of the time we feel like we're barely gonna make it. I'm your host, Stacie. I'm here with my co-host, Kevin, who also happens to be my business partner and my partner in life.

Kevin 2:01

Yep, that's me. I think today is a struggle because we just got back from two weeks in the mountains, and man, there is something about mountain air.

Stacie 2:13

Yeah, it's thinner, so you can't breathe. For me, it's just quiet up there. Now, I'll say we had all the boys up and together for a few days. And it was not that quiet, but kid one had a bachelor party up in Tahoe near our family's place, so we were blessed to have him around for two weeks. And those moms of kids that have grown and flown, two weeks is such a blessing. I was really able to, and I don't know if this sounds right, but I feel like I got to know him better as an adult. So kid one got married about eight months ago, and he and his wife are based out of San Diego, and they're looking for their first home, so a lot of exciting stuff coming up for that part of the family for sure. But anyway, we had a really nice time up in the mountains, and I'm just so grateful when we get to spend such good quality time with them, especially when we can all be together for a couple days.

Kevin 3:10

Which, if we're lucky, is what? About twice a year?

Stacie 3:13

Yeah, I know, right? Two times a year all our kids come together for two to three nights. So for all you parents out there with kids still living at home, hug them tight, 'cause it's tough when they're scattered all over living far away from you.

Kevin 3:30

Sorry, you guys. Stacie always gets a little melancholy after she's with the boys and it ends. Okay, so let's get to today's topic, because today we're talking about a moment that feels like the finish line, but it's actually the starting line.

Stacie 3:48

Yeah, exactly. All right, you guys, you've turned the unit, you marketed it, you processed your applications, and you found your, hopefully, perfect tenant who has signed the lease. Everybody's excited to start anew, and then what?

Kevin 4:04

Right. Because I feel like a lot of landlords treat the signed lease like the end of the to-do list. You know, let's shoot off the confetti, cause the hard part is done, and they have this mentality of see you at move out.

Stacie 4:21

Yeah, and that's exactly how landlords end up scrambling three days before move in trying to remember if they actually collected that security deposit.

Kevin 4:30

Or trying to remember who has which key to the new or the re-keyed lock.

Stacie 4:35

Yeah. Well, we're definitely speaking from experience on that one. So today we're walking through our entire post-lease signing procedure. What to do, in what order, how to handle it digitally, or how to handle it old school with paper. And actually why we personally do a little bit of both. We're also gonna talk about the move-in inspection and the move-in walkthrough because those are two totally different animals. And you wanna stick around towards the end because we've got some software recommendations for anyone still managing all of this stuff from a shoebox full of receipts. And seriously, you guys, no judgment if you are 'cause we've been there.

Kevin 5:19

We absolutely have. All right, so let's get into it.

Finalizing Funds, Documentation, & Rent Payment Setup

Stacie 5:25

All right, so the lease is signed, but before anyone touches a key, there are three things that have to happen: money, paperwork, and a plan for how rent gets paid going forward. So let's take a look at these one at a time. Now, first, the money. You should require the first month's rent or maybe a prorated amount to get you through the first of the next month and the full security deposit before you hand over a single key. And I know that sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many landlords get a little soft on this when a tenant seems really nice or really eager or says, "I'll bring the rest of the rent next week." You guys, that's a hard no. Funds first, keys second every time. No exceptions, no matter how charming they are or how well you hit it off.

Kevin 6:17

Or if times are tight and you just want to fill the unit, so you forget your criteria because you don't want to lose them.

Stacie 6:24

Yeah, exactly. We're feeling a bit of that desperation with our two-bedroom, two-bath right now. No matter what we do, we cannot seem to get that unit rented. We've dropped the price as low as we're comfortable going, and we just have no takers. So we get it. But back to after the lease signing. One thing Kevin and I are strict about is the security deposit is not your money, it's the tenant's money that you're holding in trust. It does not go into your regular checking account, it does not casually cover a plumbing bill in month two because cash flow got tight. It sits separately, it stays untouched, and depending on your state, there may be specific legal requirements about where and how you hold it. So check your local laws because this varies a lot state to state. The second is documentation. Once that lease is signed, your tenant is legally entitled to a copy of the fully executed agreement, meaning both signatures are on it, not just their signature, both. And if you're digital, this is easy. Whatever platform you use, whether it's DocuSign, TurboTenant, DoorLoop, Innago, or any other system, once you countersign it, it automatically generates a PDF and sends it straight to the tenant. You're done. If you're old school paper and you physically sign a copy, you either sign two and hand one copy to them right then and there, or you can email a scanned or a photographed color copy, and then the original lease goes into your files. And don't forget to sign in blue ink, not black.

Kevin 8:07

Hey, and you might want to explain that blue ink rule a little bit.

Stacie 8:11

Okay. If you're signing in person on paper, you want to sign in blue colored ink because blue ink is harder to forge or alter. And when a document gets photocopied, blue ink shows up much lighter than black, so it's obvious which copy is the original versus which is a copy. And think about it, any time you've signed real legal paperwork, like a loan for a car or closing documents on a property, they hand you a blue pen. That's not a coincidence. And while we're at it, have them initial the bottom of every single page, not just sign at the end. And I know this sounds like overkill, but it makes it a lot harder for anyone to swap out or alter a page down the line. All right, third piece, setting up how rent gets paid. This needs to be crystal clear before move-in day. Now, we use QuickBooks to invoice our tenants directly, and it funds deposits right into our bank account. So we do one invoice that is for the prorated rent and the security deposit to be paid all at once, and then we create a reoccurring invoice for the rental amount plus any fees that we might be charging. So for us, we charge a utility fee to cover water, sewer, and garbage. We also have the option for tenants to use our secure fiber optic Wi-Fi for a fee or rent a storage unit from us for an additional fee. You know, kid two, he charges rent for his tenants' pets, and that's a separate line item. So fees should be charged on a different line, not clumped all in with the rent. Doing this allows you to code them properly. So any rent, like the pet or the storage rents, those are considered income. But fees for reimbursements, like for the utilities, those are put against our expenses. We don't want to claim that as income because it's not. One logistics detail we're sharing is online payments can take a few business days to actually clear. So we give our tenants a submission deadline earlier than the actual due date. So nobody's arguing about a late payment that really was just sitting in transit. If you're using your property management platform, most of them will issue a digital invoice through ACH or credit card. And here's the tip. Disable partial payments. If a tenant can pay just a fraction of the deposit that can quietly pause your whole onboarding timeline. Now you've got somebody halfway moved in without you fully realizing it. And if you're doing this on paper, require a cashier's check or a money order for those big move-in funds. Never, ever accept a personal check for move-in money. A personal check can bounce after the tenant already has the keys, and then you're stuck chasing money from someone who is now living in your unit. And one more piece that's worth mentioning, which is tenant onboarding through a portal. Most digital platforms will send the tenant an invite to set up their profile, link a bank account, and upload proof of insurance. It's a nice self-serve system, but don't just assume that it's all handled. You need to follow up with your tenant and confirm that it's actually done before move-in day. So let me recap this piece. You want to collect the funds, provide the signed lease, and lock in exactly how and where rent gets paid. And we're gonna touch on your first email that should include all this information in just a bit. But get that one part down, and everything else in this episode kind of builds on top of that.

Kevin 11:57

Okay so, funds, signed lease, rent payment system. Next

The Move-In Walkthrough, Pre-Inspection Photos, & California's New Photo Law

Kevin 12:04

up, we're talking about something that so many landlords fail to do. And to be honest, up until we were forced by California law to do this, we were not consistent or great at it either. And that's the move-in inspection you have to complete before the tenant even steps foot in the unit. This is your protection. This is the difference between confidently charging a tenant for damage later or eating the cost yourself because you have no proof of what the unit looked like before they moved in. Here's the rule that we follow: always do a pre-move-in inspection before the tenant is anywhere near the unit. Right before move-in, we walk the entire unit and photograph everything. I mean everything. Every room, every angle, close-up pics of the window tracks, the blinds, inside the shower and tub, the toilet, the sinks, the washer and dryer connections, the front and inside of every appliance. We check and take photos that the air filter is clean and dated, the fire extinguisher is current, the fire ladder is where it should be, and the smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries are dated. And don't forget the ceiling.

Stacie 13:25

Ugh. That ceiling gets skipped constantly.

Kevin 13:28

Constantly, especially in the kitchen because that's where grease builds up over time. Or maybe where a soda can explodes and nobody notices the ceiling stain until it's move-out day and you can't prove when it happened. Here's why this inspection process matters so much. This documentation is your proof for after they move out, showing exactly how the unit looked before this tenant ever stepped inside. If there's already a dent in the dishwasher, your photos prove that, and you can't charge the new tenant for it. But flip this around. If the window tracks are black, there's dust caked on the blinds, fingerprints all over a stainless steel fridge, and hair in the shower drain when they move out, and you have photos proving it was spotless at move-in, now you have real grounds to charge for cleaning. In our experience, an unclean unit at move-out typically adds to somewhere around, I don't know, four hundred and fifty bucks in cleaning charges once you total it all out item by item. And we always let the tenant know that number up front, plus the name of our cleaning company in case you'd rather just hire them directly. No photos, no proof, no ability to collect from that security deposit. It's that simple.

Stacie 14:53

Yeah, and we should probably do a quick tip on the photos themselves.

Kevin 14:56

Yeah, please, 'cause this is an important one. Take these on your smartphone because phone photos are automatically date and time stamped, which gives you legal proof of when that photo was taken. If you'd rather use a dedicated digital camera, make sure it's one that stamps the date directly onto the image.

Stacie 15:17

Yep. Yeah, we stopped using Kevin's fancy camera a while ago, and we simply just take the photos on our smartphone and create a folder in our photos app with the unit number and the date taken. That way we know those are the pre-move-in inspection photos. And I really quickly want to tell you how this, the inspection photos all came about. You know, many states have very lax laws on security deposit reimbursement. It's your word against the tenant's on whether damage was present before moving in or if the condition was super clean before they took possession. A year ago, in July 2025, the state of California started to require all landlords to take photos of their unit before move-in, right after move-out, and then again after any repairs and cleaning had been completed. And to be honest, most landlords were pissed, but it really is in our best interest. And listen, we're acutely aware that many landlords out there automatically just keep their outgoing tenant's security deposit without having proof of what damage repairs or cleaning was needed or actually completed. And it's those landlords who make it tough for the rest of us, why tenants are now fighting back when they feel they're getting screwed, and why landlords in California now have to jump through hoops to prove that they are in the right to actually hold back security deposit money. So these photos are to cover yourself for that potential move-out disaster. It removes the need for the tenant to say, "Prove it wasn't cleaned," or, "Prove there weren't scratches all over that stainless steel refrigerator." If you can't prove it, you can't charge for it. And this is why we are now forced to take 40, 50, 60 photos of our unit before a tenant even gets access.

Kevin 17:09

And to be honest, most of our photos are to prove the unit was cleaned. Before they move out, Stacie sends them an email explaining what needs to be cleaned and how much we charge if it's not completed. Most of our outgoing tenants make a sincere effort to clean, and only if it's blatantly obvious they didn't even try do we even charge them. Now, I want to talk about the actual move-in walkthrough with the tenant. Whenever possible, we do this in person, room by room, documenting existing conditions together, and then both parties sign the form. If you can't be there together, give the tenant the move-in checklist, have them complete it, sign it, and return it to you within 10 to 14 days of the move-in date. A one-bedroom apartment doesn't need as long as a single-family home with a yard and a garage to check over. And I want to stress this point. No signed form noting issues means no protection for that tenant. If they never turn it in, they have no documented starting point. So make sure you are very clear that that form is their protection and they should complete it. And Stacie will touch on this when she discusses her first email to the tenant. We actually have a free move-in, move-out inspection form you can grab and use for exactly this. It's linked in our show notes, and it walks you through this room by room so you're not trying to remember what to check on the fly. Grab it before your next signing, print a stack of them, or save as your PDF to send out. That way, you're never scrambling to put one together at the last minute. And if you want the deeper dive on everything to prep before a tenant even walks through the door, go back and listen to our episode eight, Our Best Tips For a Smooth Tenant Move-In. That one's really the prequel to everything we're covering today.

Stacie 19:10

See, this is why I let him take the walkthrough segment every time.

Kevin 19:15

Somebody's gotta care about those ceiling stains. I mean, I'm the one that has to get up there and clean and paint those, right?

Stacie 19:21

Yeah, and you're the perfect guy for that job. All right,

Utilities, Renter's Insurance, & Your Welcome Email

Stacie 19:25

my turn again. I know we mentioned our welcome email earlier. This is where we're going to bring that all in now. On the digital side, we send a welcome email that includes a copy of their signed lease and clear next steps. This email welcomes them to our property. We reintroduce Kevin and myself, and we include our contact information. We attach a signed copy of the lease and then any documents that are required by the state of California. Like we have to provide a PDF or a physical copy about lead in the home and Prop 65, which is about drinking water. This also includes a note that the invoice for the first month's rent and security deposit has been sent separately through QuickBooks, and this is how we invoice them monthly to pay their rent and fees with approximate dates to expect that invoice and when they should pay it by in order to avoid a late fee. You might also want to include a link to sign up for a portal with your property management software or explain the best way for them to pay you rent if not using ACH or electronic billing. If no online portal for them to sign up for, let them know the best way to report a maintenance issue. We tell them where to sign up for utilities with a direct link to the utility company's new account page. Do not assume that new tenants know the local providers, especially if they're from out of town. In parts of California, one company handles both gas and electric, while elsewhere, they're split between two totally different providers. Spell it out by name and also the tenant needs clear deadlines and instructions to switch things like their water, their power, their gas, and the trash into their own name. Include a reminder of the renter's insurance specifics that you require and the deadline when you wanna receive that information.

Kevin 21:28

Yeah. And let me jump in here for a minute to discuss renter's insurance. We remind tenants of the deadline to provide proof of insurance, and honestly, we don't budge on this. For years, we only recommended renters insurance. We didn't require it until our own kids started renting places for college and we noticed every landlord they signed with required it. That got us calling our insurance broker to really dig into why, and the answer changed our whole policy. Here's the big one: liability. Your landlord policy covers the structure and your own property, not anything that happens to your tenant's belongings. And it doesn't necessarily protect you if a guest gets hurt through no negligence of yours. Think about a cable installer knocked off a ladder by a tenant's kid, or a dog getting loose and biting a delivery driver. If your tenant has no liability coverage, the injured party's insurance comes after you next. We now require a minimum of $100,000 in liability coverage per tenant, and for a few dollars more a month, most companies will bump that up to 300 to $500,000.

Stacie 22:47

And these policies aren't expensive. You know, most run between $5 and $25 a month, depending on the coverage and what the tenant owns. It costs you, the landlord, nothing to require it. The only thing you have to manage is confirming that they have it in place and that the address on the policy is correct.

Kevin 23:08

We've done a full episode on exactly why this matters, including a pretty sobering real story about a duplex fire where the landlord hadn't required insurance and ended up eating the entire loss. That's episode 67, so if you want that deeper dive on requiring renters insurance, go back and give that a listen. You can find that at yourlandlordresource.com/forward episode 67. We will link that in the show notes for you as well.

Stacie 23:38

Six seven.

Kevin 23:40

Oh my God. I am so glad that seemed to have passed with the kids.

Stacie 23:45

Yeah, well, we're old, so we can keep doing it, right? All right, let's get back on track. Moving on in the email. Because our units have smart locks, we ask for their four-digit code so that they can get into the unit on their specified move-in date. If they're paying for our Wi-Fi service, we provide their private Wi-Fi name and the password. Now, if we are not meeting them in person to do that move-in walkthrough together, we let them know that there will be a unit condition form that they need to complete and a unit binder waiting for them, which is gonna include such things as how to lock the dumpster trash bin and why it needs to be re-locked every time it's opened, back patio access and locker access information, the gas meter location, garbage disposal care, how to care for the appliances, the kitchen, bath and sinks, the bathroom, the bathtub surround, and the floors. Your washer and dryer use, the air filter, the inspections that we do, mail and packages, parking, and when is the right time to contact us. We also include a walkthrough video of the exterior of our property, and in a minute, I'll explain what's included in that so you can see why it's important.

In-Person Walkthrough: Dumpsters, Disposal Care, & Welcome Gifts

Stacie 25:08

If we are doing an in-person walkthrough, we will include the times that we're available on their move-in day. At that time, we will walk the entire interior of the unit and allow them to make notes of any issues that they find that potentially could be a security deposit deduction at move out. We also tour the exterior of the property with them. We show them where the dumpster is and how to unlock it and then lock it back up. Because if it's not locked correctly, people like to throw their trash in there. And when I say people, I mean contractors that drive up and down the alleys in Sacramento looking for open dumpsters to drop their construction materials like toilets, windows, and drywall scraps. They fill it up, and then our tenants have nowhere to put their trash. We keep our green waste and our recycling bins in a different location, so we show them that along with the location of the mailbox and how they can use the parcel box and where to put outgoing mail. We walk through the back patio and show them which keys to use to access the gate, where we keep the chair pads for the outdoor furniture during the winter months, where to plug in the electric grill when they want to use it, and how to turn on the bistro string lights that we have for ambient lighting over the patio at night. When we're back in the unit, we show them the welcome binder, and we quickly go through its contents. Essentially just reassuring them that if they need information on how to do something, check the binder first. We also explain that yes, we leave a welcome gift and show them the bottled water in the fridge for them and their move-in helpers. But we show them the blue sponge that we request that they use instead of a green and yellow scrubby sponge. And we do this so that they understand we do not want them to use anything but that blue sponge or a soft cloth on the sinks, the appliance faces, or cabinets because anything else is gonna scratch them. And we know this from experience, that's why we're asking them to use the blue sponge. And we discuss the use and care of the garbage disposal. Often they have no idea that you can't put everything down it or it's gonna clog. They also don't realize that it should be run daily if they're rinsing dishes because even the tiniest grain of rice can cause that disposal to rust out at the bottom and leak out over time. And at the minimum, run it once a week to keep the blades moving so they don't rust and seize up.

Kevin 27:41

You guys, once we started doing this for the garbage disposals, our repair and replacement calls all but stopped. And at around $300 a pop to install a replacement, that was a huge savings for us. It really is amazing what a little information can do because many tenants, they just don't realize how to care for household appliances.

Stacie 28:03

Yeah, especially for us. We get a lot of recent college grads who really haven't lived much on their own. But yeah, I know all this sounds like a lot, but all in all, this walkthrough takes about 30 minutes.

Kevin 28:17

Yeah, 30 minutes at the beginning or many more minutes over time of the lease to answer questions and tend to maintenance issues. It's your call. But when we can, we'll take putting some time and effort in upfront to help avoid it later down the line. Now, if you are more prone to wanting everything in physical documents, you know, on the paper side, you might consider handing over a physical welcome packet. That's a folder with contact sheets, emergency numbers, and a paper request form for proof of insurance. And honestly, we can absolutely blend the two, send the digital email system, and still leave a physical unit binder inside the property for them to reference, which is what we do. Regardless of whether you do in-person walkthroughs or not, the whole welcome to your new home experience is important because this is where you either look like an organized, professional property manager or one that just doesn't give a crap.

Stacie 29:22

Yeah.

The Unit Binder & Staying Organized as a Landlord

Stacie 29:23

I wanna talk a minute about that unit binder. You know, we update and complete it for every single tenant. And if you haven't heard our episode on this,

29:31

go check out episode 123 it's called Landlord

Stacie 29:35

Systems: The Unit Binder. In there, we get into things like keeping a $4.50 gas shutoff wrench right next to the meter for emergencies. We have a hex key that's taped to the inside of the kitchen sink cabinet in case the garbage disposal gets jammed. And we have QR codes that link straight to short how-to videos that we have filmed ourselves. It becomes this incredible reference tool for the tenant, so they're not calling you at 9:00 PM asking where the water shutoff valve is, or worse, not calling at all and just letting the leak continue. And one last thing on this segment, we touched on it briefly, but we always leave a welcome gift for new tenants. It usually costs us around 20 bucks. We include snacks and bottled water for moving day, paper towels and toilet paper, and a couple of items that genuinely protect the unit. I mentioned the blue sponge, and we also leave a paint touch-up cup that has about two cups of flat paint and a small, cheap paintbrush for the tenant to, well, you know, touch up any scuffs that might appear to the painted walls during tenancy. We've got a whole episode on this, episode 26. It's called Welcome Gifts: Why They're Important for Your Rental Property Business, and we're gonna link all these in the show notes for you. And one more thing before I hand it back to Kev. We also have a couple of blog posts on our website that pair really well with this episode. One is called 10 Things Tenants Need to Know at Move-In, and the other walks through the what and why behind move-in and move-out inspections in a lot more depth than we have offered here today. Both are linked in the show notes if you want the extended written version of everything that we're talking through today.

Kevin 31:25

As you can tell Stace and I have put a lot of thought into our move-in procedures, and a lot of it comes from trial and error. More on the error side and then working to correct it. But Stacie is one of those people who is extremely organized. She sets everything up in our lives this way. Like, on our vacations, everyone going has a very detailed itinerary. I mean, she's researched down to how much to tip people, and then has these little white envelopes she carries that are all labeled with the person's name or title and the tip already inside.

Stacie 32:01

Okay, you make me sound like a freak. I, I do that because when we're tipping people, usually a driver or a bellman or, like, our tour guide, things are a bit hectic. You know, we have elderly parents going one way, and then the kids are running off in another direction, and everyone is throwing questions or demands at me all at once. And having those tips set and ready allows me to take a moment to acknowledge the person who has just helped us properly, and then I can move on. I hate when we're all trying to get out of the driver's van, and bags are flying, and people are wandering off, and I'm digging in my purse for the right amount of money to tip them. And yes, I am excruciatingly organized when it comes to our units. I rather take a little time to think about and evaluate what everyone needs and create one video or compile one page in the binder one time than have to do it over and over and over again. Create it once, use it forever. The only thing we have to do is update pages from time to time. And I do the same with all of our emails. I have the templates done, so all I have to do is cut and paste them into my email server. I change the unit number, the tenant's name, and the dates. Maybe I have to update a few things here and there, but the basic body of all my emails are done. I don't have time to recreate them every single time, and honestly, I don't need to.

Kevin 33:31

Well, it's really that organization that allows us to be able to manage so many properties at once. It all comes down to creating standard operating procedures so that, if needed, anyone can step in and do our job. All right, let's close this out with the tech side of things. So Stacie mentioned digital versus paper a few times, and I want to contrast these because whichever route you're on, the goals are identical. Signatures, funds collected, a documented walkthrough. It's just the mechanics that look completely different. On document retention, digital landlords store a secure PDF in cloud storage with role-based access. Paper landlords file the signed lease in a dedicated folder or better yet, a locked fireproof cabinet organized by property address. Either works as long as you can actually find it again in two years when you need it. On fund collection and receipts, this is where the digital side really shines. The software builds a ledger automatically and emails a timestamped receipt the moment payment clears. On paper, there's no receipt needed, the cashier's check or money order itself is the tenant's proof of payment.

Comparing Landlord Software: Innago, TurboTenant, DoorLoop, & RentRedi

Kevin 34:55

Now, a lot of landlords ask us which software to actually use. And I want to keep this part clear and straightforward, not salesy because every one of these tools does the core job well. It really comes down to which feature matters most to you. TurboTenant is approachable if you're newer to managing digitally, and their pro account includes e-signing for leases. Innago Is strong for electronic lease signing and has been adding more onboarding automation, and it's completely free for landlords to use. DoorLoop leans all-in-one with tenant portals, online payments, and maintenance requests in one dashboard. Not free, and honestly for landlords who are a bit more established and have several units. Rent Redi is worth a look if mobile-first management matters to you since most of their tools were built around running things from your phone. Honestly, the differences that matter most are how quickly you actually receive rent money once the tenant pays, what your late fee automation looks like, how tenant communication is handled inside the platform, and how easy it is for a tenant to submit and track a maintenance request. Go look at a couple of these, see which interface feels intuitive to you, and pick the one you'll actually use consistently. We've got partner links to all four of these in our show notes if you want to check them out yourself. And look, none of these tools do the relationship-building part for you. They'll send the invoice and log the payment, but they won't remind you to check in on a new tenant after their first week. That part's still on us. The software just clears the busywork off your plate so you have time for that.

Stacie 36:47

And really, whether you go fully digital, fully paper, or like us, we kinda do a hybrid of both, the goal is the same: clear expectations, solid documentation, and a tenant who feels genuinely welcomed instead of just handing them a key and left to figure it out. All

Recap & Final Tips

Stacie 37:08

right, so let's finish this episode out. After that lease is signed, here's your order of operations. Collect your funds before handing over the keys. Provide a fully signed copy of the lease. Lock in exactly how rent will be paid going forward. Make sure the tenant does their utility transfers before you hand over the keys. Require renters insurance. Do a thorough pre-move-in inspection with photos of everything and complete your move-in walkthrough either together or with a signed form returned within 10 to 14 days. And you guys, none of this has to be perfect on your first try. What it needs to be is consistent. The same process every single tenant, every single time. Whether you're fully digital, fully paper or a blend of both like we do.

Kevin 38:02

And don't skip the little things. Use blue ink if you're signing on paper, a solid unit binder, and a welcome gift that tells your new tenants you're actually glad they're there.

Stacie 38:15

We've linked all the resource that we mentioned here today in the show notes, including our free move-in and move-out inspection form, our past episodes on the unit binder, renter's insurance, welcome gifts, and our original smooth move-in episode, plus the links for the software that we talked about.

Kevin 38:33

And if this episode helped you get organized, share it with another landlord who could use it. And if you feel this episode truly was beneficial, we would really appreciate it if you left a kind review on your favorite podcast platform. Those reviews show others, and us honestly, that what we're doing is helpful to the landlord community we are all a part of.

Stacie 38:56

All right, everyone. That's our show for today. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day to listen to what we have to say. We will be back next week, so if you haven't already, click to follow or subscribe so you don't miss out on any episodes. So until next time, you've got this landlords.