My tenant screening process is to figure out who I want babysitting my asset for the next year. I am listening for what a tenant tells me and what a tenant neglects to tell me--because the last thing I want is 12 months of scheduled headaches.
In my real estate life, when I help tenants find homes, I gently remind them even though they may find the home they really want, the landlord might not want them, so make sure everything is neat and pretty on the application, make sure your kids are well behaved while you are walking through a potential home and by all means, as you are strolling through the home in earshot of the landlord, make sure you don't mention you hate some personal aspect of the decor (such as the owner's personal Barbie doll collection which is proudly displayed in the living room). Somehow this advice always seems to come a major surprise to potential tenants. Coincidentally, the ones who are most surprised are the ones who have the most baggage.
What I find even more amazing is how little a tenant seems to care about the landlord. A tenant's screening process should be more thorough than it is. Generally, from their perspective they just want a place to live. Will the home's bedrooms be big enough? Will the landlord throw in the refrigerator? Most tenants don't think about will this landlord be a cheapskate and not replace the missing blinds? Or will the landlord show up on their door three times a month to check on me? Yet, they should.
I am always impressed with potential tenants who take the time to find out about me. Do I have local references? Am I current on my mortgage? Are my property taxes paid? Once in a while I find a potential tenant who asks these types of questions.
I like tenants who think this way. They are telling me they pay attention. They don't want trouble. And neither do I.
And on a personal note, Happy Birthday to Carolsue!
Saturday, April 07, 2012
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I couldn't agree with this post enough. While the landlord should travel every available avenue to ensure they are getting a quality tenant, the tenant should do a little research as well. On two separate occasions in my life, I rented a house from someone who didn't even own it. A third time, I rented a house and less than 6 months into my lease came home to find the mortgage company's representatives performing an appraisal on it because my landlord didn't pay the mortgage & the house had fallen into foreclosure. Another time, I had a landlord who would lived down the road from me. She would watch for me to leave in the mornings and then would come inside the house and go through my things. I caught her when she began taking pieces of furniture out of the house while I was at work (I rented the house furnished). I came home one day to find the bed gone - her son had moved home and she needed a bed. I'm sure Fiona has some horror stories to tell from a landlord's prospective but trust me, there are just as many horror stories out there from the tenant's point of view. LOL (and thanks for the birthday wishes)
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