Tenant Application-Red Flags Example #2
I try to ask lots of questions when I meet a prospective tenant. This will usually allow me to ferret out any problem tenants or issues.
There are so many examples of interesting tenant screening discussions that I have on a monthly basis. I thought this one was worthy of posting, not because it was funny, but for some of the subtle red flags, that I was hearing while talking to this prospective tenant.
This prospect called about a 2 bedroom apartment in an investment property in Crystal, that I own. It was recently renovated and is priced at a below market rent of $765.
Me:
So where do you live now?
Prospect:
I live just down the block in Crystal.
Me:
Great, why are you moving?
Prospect:
The landlord is going into foreclosure and he won’t fix anything and we can get in touch with him.
Me:
How about sending him a letter with your rent?
Prospect:
Oh, we haven’t been paying rent there since March (8 months).
Me:
Really! And no one has contacted you about that.
Prospect:
Nope.
Me:
[Joking] So you should have all kinds of money saved up for the damage deposit and first month’s rent on my apartment, right.
Prospect:
No, I am going to need to get my damage deposit and probably my first month’s rent from emergency assistance.
Me:
OK…………[explained my screening process] Do you have anything on record that I should be concerned with?
Prospect:
Well, I have an eviction from 2 years ago and my credit is bad.
[Thinking to myself-I saw that one coming!]
Informal tenant screening is nothing more than carrying on a conversation with some subtle questioning. I was just asking questions to understand more about where she lived and worked and such. As I heard a red flag, I steered the conversation that direction. While I did this in person, it is a great way to weed out bad tenants on the phone, saving yourself a trip to the property.
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Scott Ficek is a Minnesota Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Advantage Plus in Minneapolis and helps new and seasoned investors buy and own Minnesota Investment Property. He owns and manages almost 30 investment property units from single family to multi-family. Subscribe to his monthly real estate newsletter. Register for the newsletter here.
I have heard many of these red flags as well! I had to chuckle when I read this post. How very true indeed! People come up with the wildest stories sometimes!
I dream of a day when all landlords screen their prospective tenants. Then tenants will learn that if you abuse a landlord, nobody will ever rent to them. Justice will then be a reality.
frank lubotsky »
That will be a great day!