If I could grab you by the chin, turn your head sharply to me and force you to look into my eyes, I would. And I would say to you, "Just like the criminal justice system, you pay on the front end or you pay on the back end." I know how tempting it can be to accept the first the person who shows up waving a cashier's check for the first month's rent and security deposit, but beware your prospective tenant may be driving a fancy car and wearing nice clothes because he makes a habit of skipping rent payments to buy consumer goods. That sweet older gentleman who came by with his daughter could be looking for a new location for the ladies of his house of ill-repute or drug distribution den. Looks are often deceiving and people who tell lies get so good that it's hard to catch them until you do some digging.
In the short time I have been doing this work I have had lovely people with checkered backgrounds try to rent my homes. Some are profligate deadbeats who have left piles of bitter landlords in their wake. Others were sex offenders applying to live in a house close to schools (this is illegal in my state). A credit check, rental history check, and criminal background check are essential. Many times people who know they would fall afoul of these checks come to single family homeowners because they think a small operation of one or a few people won't run these critical checks. Often, they are correct to the chagrin and everlasting regret of the homeowner.
One of my friends owned a rental home with electric heat. The tenant was glad to have electric heat because gas bills are expensive and the gas company often requires a large deposit. The problem is that electric heat can take a long time to adequately warm up a house. The tenants may have been like me -- I like a house that feels like an oven in the winter. Since the heater was not getting them there, what better way to make the house feel like an oven that to turn the oven on? And open the oven door? And hey, how about turning on a few burners to warm your hands, and oh! The house burned to the ground. Erp.
Now that family needs a new place to stay. If you don't talk to their former landlord, you would not know about the fire (why would the tenants tell you they torched their last place?). As a landlord, you may still want to rent to this family, but you should want full information.
In the short time I have been doing this work I have had lovely people with checkered backgrounds try to rent my homes. Some are profligate deadbeats who have left piles of bitter landlords in their wake. Others were sex offenders applying to live in a house close to schools (this is illegal in my state). A credit check, rental history check, and criminal background check are essential. Many times people who know they would fall afoul of these checks come to single family homeowners because they think a small operation of one or a few people won't run these critical checks. Often, they are correct to the chagrin and everlasting regret of the homeowner.
One of my friends owned a rental home with electric heat. The tenant was glad to have electric heat because gas bills are expensive and the gas company often requires a large deposit. The problem is that electric heat can take a long time to adequately warm up a house. The tenants may have been like me -- I like a house that feels like an oven in the winter. Since the heater was not getting them there, what better way to make the house feel like an oven that to turn the oven on? And open the oven door? And hey, how about turning on a few burners to warm your hands, and oh! The house burned to the ground. Erp.
Now that family needs a new place to stay. If you don't talk to their former landlord, you would not know about the fire (why would the tenants tell you they torched their last place?). As a landlord, you may still want to rent to this family, but you should want full information.
2 comments:
good information. excellent advice.
Manonymous
I agree!! Also do background checks on your employees!
Post a Comment