On average, an eviction costs a landlord just over $5,000 when lost rent, attorney fees, court costs, etc. are factored together. Repairing damage to a rental property leaves the landlord out-of-pocket another $2,200 or more. Renting your property to the wrong tenants is a costly mistake you should avoid by all means necessary. Whether the tenants fail to pay their rent, damage the property, or otherwise cause a nuisance and disturbance to your life, you want to avoid such encounters. It isn’t as difficult to avoid bad tenants as you might suspect. Don’t learn the hard way when you can learn how to avoid bad tenants before such a mistake as made.
Know How to Spot a High-Risk Tenant
High-risk tenants are tenants more likely than others to cause disruption during the tenancy, whether its failure to pay rent on time, disturbing other residents, or causing destruction to your property. Whatever the case may be, you don’t want such tenants occupying your home.
A few signs you’ve encountered a high-risk tenant:
- Unverifiable information
- Frequent job changes
- Moving residences frequently
- Separated couples
- Bad credit/ No credit
- No proof of income
- No references/ Bad references
Avoid renting your property to individuals who fall into a high-risk category to minimize the risk of renting to someone who’ll be a bigger headache than they’re worth. Additionally, use the following resources to learn how to avoid bad tenants.
Don’t Take it Personally
Establish the relationship with your tenants as professional from the start. You do not want to mingle business and pleasure, especially when you’re renting your property. Doing so causes problems from the start. With this in mind, it’s best not to rent property to family members, friends, co-workers, etc.
Additionally, know your ideal tenant. All landlords have their own definition of the ideal tenant. Renting your property to people who fit into your criteria will give you greater peace of mind and assurance that you’ve made the best rental decision. Many landlords prefer tenants to earn at least three times the rent amount per month. This ensures that the tenant can comfortably pay rent and other costs of living at the property. If you know how to avoid bad tenants, you know that you shouldn’t rent to people without sufficient income.
Perform Tenant Screenings
At a cost of $25 – $50, a tenant screening provides valuable details that alert you to a potential renter’s criminal record, rental history, and even a credit score, helping you avoid bad tenants and find the best renters for your property. You can use information obtained via a tenant screening to avoid renting to someone registered on the sex offender registry, who is violent, or who has evictions on his record. The cost of the tenant screening can be recouped via application fees.
Hire a Pro
Keyrenter Main Line is a property management company where we take our job seriously and diligently work hard to find the best tenants to call your property home. In Keyrenter Main Line we use a 14-point evaluation system for each applicant interested in renting your property. This thorough system examines the potential renter from every possible angle, including their credit, their rental history, their past employers, criminal convictions, and more, instantly removing any bad seeds from the running immediately. Using the services of a property management company for your rental property is one of the easiest ways to avoid bad tenants. We strive to ensure landlords rent their property to only the best tenants who’ll treat the property respectfully, pay rent on time, and otherwise be a cool, carefree, and happy tenant.
Personal Interview
Before renting your home, conduct a mini-interview with the prospective tenant. This is oftentimes completed when the tenant first inquires of the rental unit or during the viewing of the rental.
Once you learn how to spot bad tenants, conduct a mini-interview with the prospective tenants. A mini-interview is a great way to learn firsthand if the individual/family is a good fit for your rental property needs. You can ask any questions you’d like, as long as those questions do not interfere with fair rental laws and practices. The more questions you ask, the better you can get to know the prospective tenant and if they are a good fit for your rental property.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know how to avoid bad tenants, you’ll always find the best renters for your property from this date forward. In reality, finding quality tenants is simple when you know what to do to get results. Use the above information to aid in the process of finding the worthwhile tenants you want at your property.