From time to time tenants move. Some move once a year, some for a bigger or smaller apartment, some for a job change and some because they are trouble tenants and are forced to move due to an eviction or because they are skipping out on rent. As a landlord, it is important that you fully understand the reasons that a tenant is really looking at your apartment if you want a trouble free relationship.
The reason a person or family is changing apartments can make a huge difference in the quality of your life as a landlord. Ideally, you want all trouble free tenants. Ones who never call you in the middle of the night, who pay on time or early every month and leave the apartment spotless when they leave.
Unfortunately, that type of tenant is very rare. And to be fair, it is reasonable for tenants to call when there are problems with the apartment. And it is reasonable to expect regular use wear and tear on the apartment when the tenant leaves. This is normal as renters do not have a homeowners mentality. Many are happy to not worry about maintenance issues and figure wear and tear is a normal state of being.
What isn’t reasonable to a landlord is having tenants who actively destroy the property. Or those who are constantly late with their rent payment or worse – just stop paying.
Just one trouble tenant can spoil the whole idea of landlording. The energy drain of that problem is intense and all you want is for it to go away.
While there is no system that is foolproof, you can do a lot of things to stack the deck in your favor. This starts with a good application form that asks for a minimum of two prior landlords as well as the addresses of the apartments where they lived as well as job and personal references and permission to run a background check.
While job and personal references and a background check can indicate a problem tenant, it is not always the case. The best way to learn about the tenant’s typical behavior is from prior landlords.
You want to have at least two prior landlords you can contact if possible. Each landlord will be able to give you different types of information. But do be aware that if one of the landlords is the current landlord, you may not get entirely truthful information.
The current/most recent landlord should be able to share with you the rental history and the fact that the person’s lease is indeed ending in an honorable way. He should also be able to tell you how long this person has been a tenant and how much hand holding the tenant needed. In other words, how many late night emergency phone calls came from this tenant, etc. What the landlord may not tell you is if the tenant was a slow payer or did damage to the property or if the tenant is leaving before the lease term is up. Most will, but if it is a problem tenant, the landlord may simply be relieved that the person is looking to be someone else’s headache.
If the landlord is the current landlord, it wouldn’t hurt to do a drive by of the apartment to see its condition. Is it well kept or is it run down? That can tell you something about both the tenant and the landlord. A rundown place suggests at the very least that the tenant doesn’t care what his living conditions are and that could be a strong warning sign that your property could get heavily used by this tenant.
From speaking with prior landlords and a ride by the current property, you should have a fairly good picture of the tenant’s habits. But remember, checking prior landlords is just one part of a good tenant screening process. You should also pull a credit report and talk to their current and past employers. This lets you verify the information supplied on the tenant application and paves the way for you to make your yes/no decision.
If you did a good job on all your homework, it is highly likely that you will have a good tenant for your rental and build a good and hopefully long term renter/landlord relationship. It may seem like a lot of work when you have many applicants but it is a small investment to make for a peaceful landlord-tenant relationship.
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