Property owners tell me all the time that they "have never had good luck with tenants". When I quiz them further I find out that they or their property managers didn't screen the tenants properly. I see property managers that have rented to people that have multiple evictions. If someone has been evicted from their last 5 apartments it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out they will not pay you either. Verify everything! The application is a wealth of information...IF you have them fill one out, and you should. When a tenant gives me his "references" or even closest family member, I check on those people too. Minimize the unknowns and investigate. You're not just renting an apartment for $450. If its a 4 plex worth $215,000 and you rent them one unit, you're handing over $215,000. They can destroy the entire place and run off your good tenants.
In Idaho we have a big drug problem with meth. A common tactic with drug dealers is to pay the landlord 3 or 6 months worth of rent. The landlord happily hands over the keys thankful that his mortgage is paid for 6 months and doesn't check on them. The neighbors call when the police kick the door in and their rental is on the news. A meth addict can move in multiple people and set up a "chemical plant" that can blow up the entire house. An active lab can cost the homeowner thousands of dollars to abate. Tenants looking to set up a meth lab scout out the for rent signs with out of town phone numbers or property managers that don't do background checks. Make sure your property manager knows what a lab looks like and does more than call references on an application.
There is an art to screening tenants. "It amazes me how a landlord will hand the keys over to the first person with a pulse and a good story. There are tenants out there that know the right things to say and make you feel sorry for them. Then when you move them in they don't pay the rent and destroy your property. If you don't know how to screen tenants by asking qualifying questions and checking backgrounds your properties are going to manage you instead of you managing your properties."
One of the benefits of working with David is that he and his wife used to work for the Pocatello Police Department. David was a Patrol Officer for 13 years. He knows the law and he knows the criminals
"You're not managing property... You're managing people and situations".
Is your current property manager doing a good job of screening tenants? Call me with your tenant guest list and I will do a background check on them for FREE!
If you have large repair bills when tenants move out or lots of evictions it is because of poor screening.