How to Avoid Bad (Really Bad) Tenants.

Problem tenants are every landlord’s nightmare. When you first meet them, the present themselves as nice, respectful, law abiding citizens but as soon as you give them a key you are met with a host of problems:
• Not paying rent on time or never paying
• Harassing other tenants and neighbors
• Destroying your property

The tenant from hell can cost you thousands of dollars in repairs, damages, and non-paid rent

All of this can be avoided with proper tenant screening. Proper tenant screening provides you with past behavior trends that can predict future behavior trends. If you see several late payments on their credit report, you can be sure that rent to you will never be paid on time. More importantly, proper tenant screening protects your investment and sanity.

Here are the basic items for each adult applicant you must include when screening tenants:
o Identity verification: Usually a drivers license or military ID
o Social Security Number verification
o Employment & Income verification
o Prior Address Verifications
o Credit report
o National and state criminal history and sex offender searches
o Eviction records checks
o Terrorist list check
o Previous two landlord references – Always go for two as their last landlord might tell you they are the model tenants just so he can be done with them.

There are people who are “professional” renters out there. If you do not do your due diligence you are putting an awful lot at risk. Tenants don’t care that you won’t be able to make the mortgae payment if they don’t pay you on time. Your rental applicatin process helps establish the type of relationship your tenant can expect from you. If they see you as a sucker from the start, they will treat that way. If they see you as a no non-sense property owner, chances are they will know they can’t pull the things they have done in the past. Most importantly, good screening will make sure the problem tenants never rent from you.