Find an online lease agreement then modify it to your needs. You don't need a lawyer, but you do need to be aware of state and local rental laws, some of which are arcane. But they will also be online. Many are filled with stupid stuff designed to deal with deadbeats when you own a complex with 120 units to tenants who are strangers to you. You don't need all that shit if you are renting a house and dealing with tenants that you select carefully. That is the most important part. Pick a good tenant up front, even if it costs you a month of rent waiting for him. Make sure they show you some legitimate ID and make a photo of it. You are renting them an expensive property and you need to know exactly who you are dealing with. If they get pissed off they can trash your house, abandon their deposit, and disappear. Get some references from their last few landlords and call them to make sure these people pay their rent. Call their employer and verify their income. If the rent is more than 25% of their income, they will have trouble making payments. Trust me. Beware rental-purchase agreements. They have a ton of problems and lawyers will get involved very quickly if there are issues. Rent it to them until they decide to buy it.
This is good advice. It's actually a complex transaction that can go in many unpredictable ways. I would try to avoid it or keep it as a verbal good faith thing.
Rule #1: DO NOT let emotions enter into business deal. Per your comments, they ain't "helping out others" if they're getting paid for it. If they're taking in foster kids, that's a red flag right away in my book.
so now I have another issue. I have a retaining that goes along the entire length of my backyard. Damn thing blew out in a couple of places from all the rain we have been getting. I'm thinking about going to the two neighbors behind me to see if they want to split the cost of repair in 1/3s . If I don't get it fixed their houses will soon be in my backyard so I'm thinking they have a stake in it. Is that a dick move? Would I be liable if I didn't fix it? Are they obligated to pitch in?
I do not understand. What is a "retaining" and how can it stop their houses from being in your yard? Are they off the ground?
I'd have to see it. The retaining wall is on your property? Your property is higher or lower? Where does current drainage go? Where does it to with no wall?
I would take care of anything that is exclusively on my property and never let anyone else have an interest in it or any say on it. If it crosses property lines, then splitting costs may be appropriate with a written agreement.
What it amounts to is a shitty job by the developer, the land should have been leveled prior to building and it wasn't and now there is no way to do it. My house is lower, about 6' lower than the houses behind me. If I stand on my back porch I am eye level with their foundations. The wall is built to keep the ground that is much higher in their yard from eroding into my yard. If the wall isn't there eventually the dirt will makes it way into my yard and out from under theirs and cause massive amounts of damage. I will. But because of it having serious impact on their homes and property I would expect they would be willing to chip in on the repair. Sort of like when you build a privacy fence, it is usually split between the neighbors because they both benefit from it. The wall is made of rail road ties secured with a series of deadmen
