Posted on

6 Insane Landlording Stories That Prove the Importance of Tenant Screening

earth-237955_1280-PDOver the years, I have made many mistakes on tenant selection and have had the privilege of accumulating landlording stories. There is always value to a landlord education, even if provided by a tenant, and in the real estate game, the education can be very pricy. Almost all landlords have made similar mistakes, and it costs them dearly. Only the well capitalized or lucky landlords live to try it again.

One of my first rental investments was a couple of duplexes. I had one all cleaned up and ready to rent. Since I knew Section 8 was a guaranteed way to get rent, I figured “How can a landlord go wrong with that?” After all, most people are decent people and want to respect the property and the landlord. I quickly learned the hard way that tenants are not always that way.

Read More Here.  I have listed the landlording stories and lessons to be remembered.

6 Landlording Stories That Prove the Importance of Tenant Screening

 

Do you have any interesting landlording stories?  Or even a good renter story?

Posted on

How to Get the Best Tenants into Your Rental Property

When you have a vacant rental, you will inevitable have to advertise and fill it. Unless you are extremely lucky, you will not rent to the first person who inquires on your rental — or at least the first person will not likely be qualified to live in it.  You want to get the best tenants you can possibly attract to your rental.

Like it or not, you will be at some point showing your property to tenants that do not want to rent from you, or you do not want to rent to.

At some point, you will need to decline a rental applicant. This is one of the main problems landlords have: being unable to decline a tenant.

See the rest of the story here

 

Posted on

Tenant Credit Score is Easily the Best Indicator of Tenant Quality: Here’s Why

credit-40671_1280-PDI know many landlords, and despite my success at screening and selecting tenants, they often think somehow their property is different from mine. They do not think they can use the tenant credit score as a reliable indicator. They are ignoring tenant credit score to their own peril.

The fact is, tenant credit score is the most reliable indicator of tenant success that there is, bar none. You need to make sure that the tenant can afford the unit with an income of 3.5x the rent, but the tenant credit score will weed out the people that have behavioral issues and have no problem cheating anyone that they owe money to.

If you are a landlord, you know you need to do a background check. A critical piece is getting a credit report, complete with a credit score. The credit score is a summation of everything that goes on a credit report. It is calculated the same every time, with no bias to any discriminatory practices. It is colorblind and not subject to any fair housing issues.

Read More Here

What do you think of using tenant credit score to predict tenant payments and behaviors?

 

Posted on

Month to Month vs Annual Lease: Which Protects Landlords?

hand-376212_1280-PDWhat are the advantages of a Month to Month vs Annual Lease?

When renting out property, many landlords want to lock in a new tenant as soon as possible, and they want to lock them in for as long as possible. It makes sense — until you begin to look at all of the commitments that you are making and how little of a commitment the tenant is making.

As soon as you know you are going to have a vacancy, you want to begin marketing. If your existing tenant is a slob, a hoarder, or being evicted, it is extremely difficult to attempt any turnover until you have a vacant unit. With a long term tenant, you just need to factor in a bit of vacancy time to clean up and repair, as well as some down time until you find a tenant.

Worst case, it was a one year (or less) tenant and you have to wait for the tenant to move out to show it, you can look in the mirror for your issue. You should have bypassed this tenant.

Continue reading “Month to Month vs Annual Lease: Which Protects Landlords?”

Posted on

The Ultimate Comprehensive List of Tenant Red Flags

red-flag-339489_1280-PDDo you know what tenant red flags you should be on the lookout for?

When you are screening tenants for your rentals, it is pretty easy. You take an application, submit it to a screening company and wait for the results. You have pre-set tenant selection criteria, and you compare against the criteria. You let all the incoming prospects know what you are screening for, and you let them self-screen as much as possible. After comparing the results to your criteria, if the tenants pass, you accept them. If not, you move on to the next applicant.

Read the rest of the story here…

Related posts

 

 

Posted on

How to Approve Tenants Without Meeting Them

approved-29149_1280-PDI screen hundreds of renters every year for an apartment complex.

I see lots of background checks.  I am going to show you how to approve tenants without ever meeting them.  I have approved hundreds of renters without ever seeing them.  Are you still stuck on seeing and meeting renters?  Give it up, it is not necessary.  I cleaned up a 120 unit apartment complex by creating criteria that keeps most bad tenants out, without ever even seeing a tenant.

Continue reading “How to Approve Tenants Without Meeting Them”

Posted on

How to Collect Rent On Time

invoice-153413_1280-PDThis is a post about how to collect rent on time.  It is a secret recipe that I am going to share.  The rents for June have all been collected.  23 of 25 are in the bank as of June 3, 2014.  Of course, that means I had them all in hand by yesterday, June 2.    The other two are in hand, as of June 3, but not in the bank, yet.  I challenge any other landlord to beat me on that record.  Here is how I do it.

Continue reading “How to Collect Rent On Time”

Posted on

Landlords! Here Is How You Do Criminal Background Checks (The RIGHT Way)

three-stooges-516165_1280-PDMy first two posts on tenant screening dealt with the most important aspects of tenant screening, credit and income verification.

In my third post on tenant screening, I discussed, with quite a bit of controversy, the downfalls of past landlord checks. The fourth and final pillar in tenant screening is the Criminal Background Check.

Continue reading “Landlords! Here Is How You Do Criminal Background Checks (The RIGHT Way)”

Posted on

Renting to Family Members and Friends

trip-307920_1280-PDWhen you rent to family members, you have a unique set of circumstances.  Not only do you have a solid and customer, you also have a customer that might take advantage of you.  This post will help you understand the nuances of renting to family members.  Whether it is moving a person back into the childhood room, or renting your investment property to them, the same criteria apply.

Continue reading “Renting to Family Members and Friends”

Posted on

Targeting Your Market to Maximize Income

dart-board-25780_1280-PDRemember, landlording is a game of probabilities and statistics. By targeting your market, you can maximize profits, that is simple Marketing 101.  If you want to maximize your income, targeting your market is key.

There are good tenants in every category, but you are looking for the highest probability of success, not the needle in a haystack.  Success is defined a tenant that pays rent, leaves the unit in good order, and you make money. Continue reading “Targeting Your Market to Maximize Income”