Hire an Attorney?

[Bwill]

I am considering starting my own company. The start up cost will be minimal. My two biggest expenses would be a lawyer and insurance. I am trying to do this as economical as possible. My business involves renting equipment to people.


So I am looking at paying an attorney to get me registered with the state $500-$600 AND create a rental agreement $700. One lawyer told me to do my own rental agreement and base it off of someone like Home Depots agreement. At first glance I thought this was horrible advice. After further thought I wondered if he was right. My thinking is at the end of the day the contract only helps so much. The main thing is proving that something was damaged during the rental and not prior to it. So things like pictures and forms for customers sign off on that everything is in good working order are more important than the contract they sign.


Registering with the state is another thing I can do myself. Both attorney's felt it takes a lot of time and frustration to do it yourself. Not sure what to think on that one. I know the $500 would be nice to have in my pocket.


What do you guys think? Are these things better off being left to the professionals?

[tallen]

Depending on the nature of the equipment you are renting out, a bigger concern might be your liability exposure if someone were to get hurt or someone else's property were damaged. If this is a concern, you might want an attorney to help you incorporate (which may invovle more than just registering with the state) and craft a rental agreement that addresses these liability issues (and not just questions about damage to your equipment).

I formed a similar business last year (renting equipment), where in my case liability exposure is a big concern. I did use an attorney to do the incorporation and act as my registered agent with the state. I wrote my own rental agreement -- the attorney gave it a quick once-over but not a full formal review. I may have him look at it again, though, as we expand the business.

[MyITGuy]

Yes, it would be recommended. It sounds like your renting out a property, so you want to work with a lawyer to ensure your assets are protected (Correct Entity and that everything is correct/accurate), and that the rental contract (Which is what any dispute/issue will be based on) is sound/protects you.

To reduce your costs, you can find a rental contract that already exists and have an attorney review/modify it...but in all honesty any real estate/business lawyer should already have one of these prepared.

[Freelancier]

If you're just registering with the state and not incorporating, you can do it yourself without involving an attorney. But incorporation has a bunch of additional steps that having either an attorney or getting a state-specific kit from a legal firm like legalzoom (NOT an endorsement) is going to be helpful to making sure that your ducks are in a row when someone uses your equipment to kill themselves (by accident, of course, but your liability is still a problem even in accidents).

As for building a good contract, sure, start with someone else's contract (even the lawyer's template should be a starting point), then adjust the text to your needs and THEN run it by an attorney for final review and adjustments to make sure it matches your location's laws... you want it to hold up in court AND protect you and your assets (the ones you rent AND the ones you have purchased for your own needs and pleasures). So spending now to make sure you have everything done right is going to be important to your future.

Sometimes you have to spend a little money to make a little money. Don't be penny-wise/pound-foolish... what you spend ONCE to protect yourself will help you make a lot of lower-stress money in the future.