Becoming A Landlord Is A Good Business But Can You Avoid Problem Tenants?

Regardless if you are renting out homes or apartments, becoming a landlord for the first time is often very exciting. It can be a good way to earn a full-time living or just make extra income. Beware though, one of the common mistakes that new landlords make is renting without screening applicants, which can lead to a the dreaded Problem Tenants.

Wherever your property is located it is important to make sure you get written tenant applications and have a formal lease which is compliant with the laws in your location. Without any formal agreement, then if a problem arises it is just your word against your tenant's.

Screening To Avoid Problem Tenants

As a landlord, you have a certain rights that you should exercise when it comes to screening tenants. Keep in mind, you cannot screen your tenants based on their race, religious beliefs, sex, or a number of other things since this would be breaking the law in most countries. However, you can and should screen for past rental problems, employment, have proper identification, and make sure they are the legal age to rent in your location.

You should have in writing (the lease agreement) what the security deposit is along with any pet deposits for tenants that have pets, if you are going to allow pets, many landlords don't.

Thoroughly screening prospective tenants helps you to know whether or not they have been Problem Tenants in the past. Often this can be found out by a quick call to their last landlord.

If everything initially checks out and the tenant wants to rent the property or apartment, then you have a choice of accepting the security and any other deposits in the form of a money order or accept a check, but wait until funds clear before the tenant is fully approved.

Although there are certain questions you cannot ask, such as a tenant's ethnic background, you have the right to run their information through the Registry for Convicted Sex Offenders. When you have a community with a lot of children this is especially useful.

Checking References

When the applicant fills out the rental application you can request references, many landlords fail to check these references - big mistake! It is essential that you call the references as well as their employer to make sure that they have no history of being Problem Tenants and that everything on their application is true.

Look up the phone numbers yourself rather than relying on numbers supplied by the prospective tenant. Someone might seem very nice, but you still should always check their references and confirm they are working and making enough money to pay their rent. Always call their employer unless they are self-employed in which case you can request bank statements that show regular deposits from their work.

How Many Occupants

Often, new landlords become so excited that someone is interested in their property that they may fail to ask how many people will be living in the rental. It's up to you to ensure you know how many people will be occupying your property, put the number of people in the lease to protect yourself. After all you don't want to rent your property to one family then find there are two or more families living in the same accommodation.

Final Thoughts

Becoming a landlord is very exciting, but you must take the necessary steps to ensure that you are fully protected under the laws in your location and that you are not renting to Problem Tenants. Furthermore, if you take the time to properly screen applicants it will help you to avoid headaches once someone moves in.