We’ve been in the rental business for eleven years. Most people buy a property and then quit because they don’t know how to find proper renters. The people you rent your property to will make or break you. Here are some people that we try to avoid:
The Mama’s Boy or Daddy’s Girl
If a grown man or woman cannot view a potential rental property without having their parent or grandparent with, then they probably are not responsible enough to be a good renter. They may have gotten themselves into trouble before, and grandpa is going to get them back on their feet by paying the deposit and first month’s rent, which might make you feel a little more secure. Then, the second month comes and rent is nowhere to be found.
The Sob Story
You answer the call about the rental ad you have placed for your property, and after a few basic questions, the person launches into a full on 10 minute heart wrenching story about how their cheating wife has left them for another man. She took the dog and got the house in divorce court so they need a place now. They also can’t come up with a deposit, because of all of the lawyer fees, and it goes on. Don’t be fooled. You are running a business, not a charity. The same person that has a sob story for why you should rent to them also has a sob story for why their rent is late…every month.
The Complicated Situation
This is a slightly different take on the sob story. They do not ask outright for pity. However, the more questions you ask, the more complicated their life seems. They seem to have quite a bit of drama surrounding them. Just ask yourself, does their story seem reasonable? If not, it’s better to pass.
The High Maintenance Man
These people pay on time, usually early, but this guy is constantly calling you or texting you at all hours, day or night for things that they want taken care of. So what’s the problem? They ask for you to take care of things they really should do themselves. They call you to light the pilot light on their stove at midnight. Then they need a light bulb replaced. They waste a lot of your valuable time, unnecessarily. It’s hard to spot these people at first. Some clues could be that they ask for extremely specific things that don’t matter to most normal people. They ask for the EXACT dimensions of every room in the prospective property, estimates will not do, and that’s the first thing they ask for when you answer their rental inquiry call. When you do a walk through with them, they start to give you a list of all of the things that they want changed, a specific chandelier to replace the one in the dining room. All of the bedrooms to be repainted in baby pink. The bottom line is they act like you are the servant and they are the master. This is not the type of relationship you want with a renter.
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