Telltale Signs of a Bad Tenant

I am sure with that headline and what I am about to say will get me some hate e-mail, but I just tell like I see it (even if it is not 100% politically correct or polite). So I stopped by one of my units in Northeast Minneapolis this weekend to find that the tenant moved out in the middle of the night, owing me May rent. Nice! On top of that they left a couple pieces of furniture in the house, 2 beds in the yard, and no cleaning (surprise). How did this happen to me again?

As I was having a little pity party in my unit, I had an epiphany. This tenant had some telltale signs that I should have picked up on when I showed her the unit the first time. While none of these are 100% reliable and I am sure there are many exceptions, and while I am sure I will get hate mail for saying some of these things, just chalk this up to my gut feeling and experience over the years. Here are some correlations that I have noticed with bad tenants:

One of my big pet peeves is seeing window screens pushed out or damaged on rental properties. I don’t think I have ever wrecked a screen at my house. I see tenants push them out all the time. In fact I had a tenant last summer simply push the window air conditioner through the screen instead of removing it! Bad tenants seem to treat the screens on the house like the treat the rest of the house. They abuse it. By stopping by and checking out their current living situation, you should be able to notice this.
When you are running the tenant’s application, if there are any credit issues, collection items, or evictions, that is going to continue to be a problem. Now I understand if you got laid off, went through a divorce, got sick and had a period in your life well that is explainable, but most bad tenants just seem to have no regard for payment of bills. Just like any bad habit, once they get used to doing it often, it gets easy.

While I could go on and on, these are some quick thoughts that come to mind (and help me vent my frustrations).

5 comments

#1KristiMay 11, 2010, 2:56 pm

Totally agree with you! The screen issue is ridiculous. What DO people do to make their screens dented? I too have never had this happen in my own home. Just like bent mini-blinds. I rarely have a need to even touch a mini-blind (besides the cord to open/close) yet tenants always seem to bend them.

#2Scott FicekMay 11, 2010, 8:26 pm

YES! I forgot about the mini blinds. How can a tenant live there for 1 year and I have to replace all the mini blinds because they are damaged!?

#3minnesota real estateMay 16, 2010, 3:05 pm

Scott,

I feel your pain. I have had my share of tough tenants over hte last 10 years. I too agree. Prior evictions, credit issues, poor rental history…there are a number of things that are red flags.

#4Tyler RasmussenMay 20, 2010, 6:09 am

Which credit/background checking company have you found to be the best and most thorough? We have used a couple, but never seem to get complete information by going through a single source, we end up going through multiple background and credit check websites.

I also agree with you on being able to identify potentially bad tenants. The way they treat the property shows the level of respect they have for you and the rules that are laid out in their lease agreement.

#5Scott FicekMay 21, 2010, 2:06 pm

I have used MCCgrp.com for a number of years. I have also used rentalresearch.com in the past. Both are pretty good.

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