The New Landlord Readiness Checklist

Deal reality check

• Write the purchase price, financing assumptions, closing costs and initial repair estimate.
• Record the source and date for each important assumption.
• Separate current actual rent, advertised rent and your projected rent.
• Compare relevant rental properties rather than choosing only the highest advertised rent.
• Identify concessions, utilities included and differences in condition or location.
• Include taxes, insurance, vacancy, repairs, long-term replacements, management effort and cost, utilities, association charges and other applicable costs.
• Ask the relevant professionals how a purchase or change of use may affect taxes, financing or insurance.
• Write a base case and a less-favorable case using assumptions you can explain.
• Decide in advance what unresolved facts or results would make you stop or renegotiate.

Evidence still needed: ____________________   Owner and deadline: ____________________

Property and market due diligence

• Confirm the property type, legal unit count and intended rental use.
• Review title, survey, easements, access, restrictions and association documents with the appropriate professionals.
• Schedule an independent inspection and any specialty reviews the property warrants.
• Identify roof, foundation, structure, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and water-intrusion questions.
• Check flood exposure and other location-specific hazards with appropriate sources and insurers.
• Confirm utilities, meters, service responsibility and any well or septic requirements.
• Obtain written repair estimates rather than relying only on a general allowance.
• Check local demand using relevant listings, market evidence and knowledgeable local professionals.
• If occupied, review leases, payment history, deposits, notices, concessions and obligations that transfer.
• Verify local permits, registration, inspections, rental restrictions and occupancy rules for this exact property and use.

Do not assume that a program applying to an apartment complex also applies to every single-family rental. San Antonio’s proactive apartment inspection program, for example, has defined participation triggers — check the City of San Antonio rules for your specific property.

Evidence still needed: ____________________   Owner and deadline: ____________________

Financing and cash readiness

• Confirm permitted occupancy and use, down payment, rate, term, fees and lender conditions.
• Get a property-specific insurance quote appropriate to the intended use.
• List cash to close separately from cash for repairs and reserves.
• Set an operating reserve based on the actual property, its risks and your situation.
• Plan for vacancy, a nonpaying tenant, insurance deductibles and a major repair happening close together.
• Confirm who can approve and fund urgent work.
• Do not count future rent, a refinance or appreciation as cash you already have.
• Review ownership and financing arrangements with qualified advisers before committing.

Evidence still needed: ____________________   Owner and deadline: ____________________

Before you advertise or select a tenant

• Have a locally appropriate lease and required addenda reviewed by a qualified professional.
• Establish written screening criteria and a consistent, lawful application process.
• Verify fair-housing obligations, reasonable-accommodation procedures and any additional state or local protections.
• Confirm the rules governing screening reports, authorization, adverse decisions and applicant data security before using a screening provider.
• Write an honest listing that describes the property without discriminatory preferences.
• Identify required disclosures, including whether lead disclosure rules apply.
• Decide how applications, approvals, denials and supporting records will be documented.

The Fair Housing Act protects against discrimination in nearly all housing on the listed federal bases, including race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. Verify applicable exceptions and additional local rules rather than assuming an exemption (HUD). For most pre-1978 rental housing, the required lead pamphlet and disclosure language must be provided before the lease is signed (EPA).

Evidence still needed: ____________________   Owner and deadline: ____________________

Before the first move-in

• Confirm the property is safe and ready for occupancy under applicable rules.
• Verify smoke and CO alarms, locks and other required safety equipment for the property and jurisdiction.
• Complete dated condition documentation and a move-in record.
• Record keys, access codes, utility responsibility and emergency instructions.
• Establish lawful deposit handling, required notices and records.
• Confirm rent amount, due date, accepted payment methods, receipts and how payment problems are handled.
• Give the tenant a clear maintenance-reporting and emergency-contact process.
• Identify a primary and a backup repair contact.

Texas landlord obligations include specified health and safety repairs, smoke detectors and security devices, subject to applicable law and exceptions. This worksheet is not a substitute for checking the current requirements (Texas Attorney General).

Evidence still needed: ____________________   Owner and deadline: ____________________

Your operating routine

• Decide where leases, amendments, insurance, inspection reports and vendor documents will live.
• Choose a rent-record and expense-record process and a regular reconciliation routine.
• Keep security-deposit obligations distinct from freely spendable operating money.
• Set a maintenance intake, approval, vendor and completion process.
• Establish periodic inspections and preventive maintenance consistent with notice and access rules.
• Assign responsibility for renewals, rent changes, insurance renewals and other deadlines.
• Establish backups and appropriate access controls for records containing personal information.
• Decide when an accountant, attorney or licensed property professional should handle a question.

Evidence still needed: ____________________   Owner and deadline: ____________________

Your next-deal system

• Write your buy box: property type, location, financing, condition, operating needs and decision criteria.
• Save promising opportunities in a place you will actually revisit.
• Track each deal’s stage and next action.
• Keep dated assumptions and record what changed.
• Document why you passed, pursued or paused.
• On acquisition, deliberately transfer the property facts and obligations into your ownership records.

Recommended workflow: Find → Evaluate → Decide → Prepare → Operate. These are planning stages, not a claim that every stage is automatically connected in software.

Evidence still needed: ____________________   Owner and deadline: ____________________

Readiness decision

• Proceed to the next investigation step: critical assumptions have evidence, responsibilities are assigned and the next decision is clear.
• Pause: financing, cash, safety, legal use or operating questions remain unresolved.
• Rework or pass: the less-favorable case exceeds your tolerance, or a necessary condition cannot be satisfied.

This is not a scoring system for whether to buy. Do not let completed administrative tasks cancel out a serious unresolved risk.

Where Owner’s Desk fits

Deal Desk is intended to help organize opportunities and working assumptions. Property Desk is intended to help organize the rentals you own. Review the current capabilities and plan terms before relying on any particular workflow.

This checklist is deliberately broader than the software. It does not mean Owner’s Desk supplies inspections, legal documents, insurance, compliant screening, trust accounting or professional investment advice.

Important: this checklist is educational only and is not legal, tax, financial, lending, investment, insurance, property-management or real-estate advice. Verify current federal, state and local requirements and consult qualified professionals for your circumstances.