I get asked questions about the process all the time. But I am not a landlord, so I don’t know the answers
Here are some of the questions:
Do you actually pull a credit report? If so, what kind? What do you look for?
If you don’t pull a credit report, do you tell applicants that you will?
What red flags do you look for on an application?
What questions do you ask previous landlords?
Is there anything else that you would like to share with the group?
I work in rental property management.
We usually pull Experian, if it’s bad, we pull TRW and Trans-Union too. Mostly we look for late payments, write-offs, and court files. All three are red flags–people who pay bills late are suspect (they usually pay their rent the same way); people with write-offs and court judgements don’t pay at all. Checking with landlords is advisable, but tricky–often people give good references to get rid of a bad tenant.
In these days of cell phones, people can and will use a friend as a “landlord” or “employer.” Often we check the property tax records and see if the names are the same.
Get a written lease and list EVERYONE who will live in the apartment. In my city, you have to file papers with the names of all the tenants. If anyone else moves in, you can file for eviction.
It’s also advisable to run a police search on the name (or, if you know the cops, to call and see if they know the person).
Almost always and of the few times I haven’t I’ve occasionally regretted it. More to the point when advertising a vacancy I include a line about a $10 non refundable fee for a credit check (though I understand in some areas this is not an acceptable practice), this tends to weed out a lot of potential applicants who couldn’t stand scrutiny (this covers question 2 I believe).
As to where to get the check done, I get the instant online check from the link from the Mr.Landlord web site, which is btw a valuable resource in many other ways.
Beyond the credit check I don’t trust people who don’t want me talking to their prior landlord, that’s a biggie. Past that, I go on feel, do they seem like someone I wouldn’t have a problem with as a neibore. If I guess wrong there are clauses in the lease that proscribe against some of the more common abuses (the late and loud or trash strewn yard types of things) and if they manage to be objectionable but not in an immediately actionable way I put up with them for a year then not renew their lease.
Payment and behavior history, if they were a good tenant it’s generally a short conversation if not I tend to find out more than I could possibly care to about the person. And a definate strong seconding of Annie-Xmas’s caution reguarding false or misleading refrences.
Just maintain good tenant relations, if you and the tenant both feel like you’re on the same side it’s a lot easier to work through the inevitable frictions. If they like you they’re more likely to look out for your interests regarding other tenants. When problems arise, be fair but firm. Never give a warning you wont follow through on otherwise your next warning wont hold weight. Know how the law applies to you and your situation, ironically the local tenants rights advocates can be a good resource for you. As long as they are convinced you are working in good faith they may help you assess your rights in a dispute.
And last but not least keep notes. When facing a housing court in an arguable case being able to site dates and times of problematic behavior carries more weight than just saying (for example) “I can’t tell you how many times I had to tell them to clean up their yard and mow the lawn” or “if I had a nickel for every time another tenant complained to me about what these people were doing.” You get the idea.
Annie-Xmas and Ennui thanks for taking the time to give us such detailed answers.
General Questions is for questions with factual answers. IMHO is for opinions and polls. I’ll move this to IMHO for you.
DrMatrix - GQ Moderator
I too am a property manager. Anyone who doesn’t pull a credit report, gets what they deserve. They are inexpensive and can give you a world of information once you know what to look for.
It is amazing what tenants will fess up to when they realize that I will be pulling a report. Fact of the matter is, I am not expressly looking for good or bad credit, rather a history. I get former addresses that I can compare with what they put down on their application for former landlords.
I seldom get bad tenants because of my fairly intense screening which begins when I take their initial phone call, conversations while I’m showing the property, the credit check and then further inquiry at walk-through and lease signing.
I’m a bit evil when it comes to references the potential tenant has given. I do call their references, but I ask the reference to give me other references they might know about. By so doing, I avoid the landlord trying to pawn off a bad tenant or the friend acting as a landlord or employer.
Though our area doesn’t have a landlord association, I keep a list of bad tenants that I may have run across, as well as ones that I notice in my travels and share it freely with other property managers. A quick way to get on my blacklist is to fail to show up for an appointment or even be late. Even though I warn folks during the initial phone conversation, I still imagine that I get stood up half of the time. In my rural area, that hurts and I remember it.
Another good trick, while holding the door open and explaining how I just had the carpeting professionally cleaned, is to notice if they take off their shoes before I do.
A good landlord is a good listener, notices everything, a skeptic and in charge.
I’ll be watching this thread closely for more ideas about landlording.
I own both commercial and residential rental properties, and I can’t add much to what’s been suggested here as far as the residential goes.
In addition to the information already requested, I also contact the Better Business Bureau in the locality that the prospective tenant is arriving from (if not local) and see what, if anything, the BBB has on them. I also check with the State Corporation Commission to determine what I can about the business, and I always contact the local zoning department to make sure that what they’re proposing to do on the property complies with local ordinances (I’m responsible for the use of the property, not the tenant).
Does this really work? A person’s reference may not know anyone else to provide as a reference, and has no obligation to give you that information anyway. In fact, giving you that information might be construed as an invasion of their tenant’s privacy. I wouldn’t think you’d get much additional information that way…but the person most likely to help you out with that information would be a friend pretending to be a past landlord/employer.
Floors are for walking on. This sort of test is nuts, imho. Heck, if you’ve just had the carpet professionally cleaned, it may be a bit damp, which means you ought to keep your shoes on. Besides, the place is either going to be rented to that prospective tenant, in which case he can walk on the carpet in shoes all he wants, or it’s going to be rented to someone other than him, in which case him walking on it once wearing shoes is hardly worth him worrying about.
I admit, I’m not a landlord, so perhaps my viewpoint is skewed towards the tenants’ side…but my folks have been landlords of numerous properties for about 20 years. They’ve handled their tenants with generosity and trust, and never had a problem, to the point that every person who’s moved out has gotten 100% of their secuity deposit back. I think Ennui said it well; if the tenant and landlord are on the same side, things go a lot better.
I don’t think this is a very good test. Even if it’s just been professionally cleaned, I won’t walk on unfamiliar carpeting without shoes on. I’m diabetic, and that’s my doctor’s orders. IF I know the people who live there, I might go barefoot. Usually, though, I keep my shoes on. I don’t care about your carpeting nearly as much as I care about not getting my feet amputated. Carpeting can be cleaned, or replaced. No amount of money will really replace an amputated foot.
You know, I understand why landlords pull a credit report, and I don’t begrudge them that becuase that is their only source of information on the previous history of the tenant, but I am still sick of seeing the credit report used everywhere. One thing that really annoys me about renting in particular is that the credit report does not reflect rent payments at all. I that either rent payments should be added to credit reports as a reported item, or better yet, a seperate credit type report should be utilised. I don’t trust the big three reporting agencies, and I hate how they gain more power. It took me three months to get an erroneus piece of information off my report at one of them, and it wasn’t even bad data. It just said that I worked for some company in Colorado, when I have never even lived there, or close enough to commute there. I can’t imagine what hell they make you go through to get erroneus bad data off of. They have no accountability and too much power. Ok, that was a long hijack, back to the thread.
I think the shoe thing is kinda strange, but that is a tip I will keep in mind for the future.
I see where you’re coming from, however…ce credit cards require making monthly payments (like rent), I think they figure if you can’t handle a credit card bill, in no way should they let you live on their property.
I live in a university town and have rented housing to students for 15yrs. They were not my houses I was doing it for a friend, a pretty small scale affair really but I learned a lot doing it.
I never checked a credit report because students have only debts so there is little point. As a former student myself I could empathise with young people just starting out, building credit etc. But I always called their references and I always asked the same question; ‘Have you ever known this person not to fullfill a financial obligation?’ The answer, while important, isn’t as telling as any pause or delay in responding.
Make sure all your leases etc are in straight forward English - no legalese. When they come to sign the leases I always ask everyone if they’ve read it, if not, they read it right then, before they sign. The same goes for notes concerning rules about garbage, bikes etc. They read it right in front of me, and I ask if they understand and can abide by them.
Being honest with yourself about your expectations regarding things like noise and behaviour are key. Being up front with potential tenants about those expectations will really prevent lots of problems.
Don’t be afraid to add an adendum to your leases specific to your needs. Where I live is a cold climate and when the sun shines in the spring students have a tendency to want to climb out on the roof to do a little high profile sunbathing/drinking/partying. My leases always specified - No Roof Access. Also always include one that specifies - Sublets subjects to landlords approval, this ensures who ever wants to sublet has to meet the same criteria that the original tenants did. Without this clause they can sublet to anyone, anytime without any input from you.
Since I was dealing with young people I also provided information sheets on painting policies etc. (IE Landlord must approve colours, will provide paint but not painting supplies, reasonable job, cover the floors, etc.) Never forget the best window for eliciting their cooperation is before they have given you a cheque. They tend to get a little deaf after that, but prior to that moment you have their undivided attention. Make sure you are organised enough to cover all the points you need to during this window, this is very important.
Be clear and up front about any late payment policy. This was hard for me to learn, but learn I did, if you let them bounce a cheque no charge this month, they WILL do it again. My solution was to explain the fee up front, when the first time came that it applied, I explained that my experience had taught me they would repeat this behaviour if I let it slide, then I would give them a freebie and point out that next time they would indeed have to pay. And the next time, no problem. And some kids had to pay 3 and 4 times before they figured it out. But they were young people and just learning about life and they all got it sooner or later.
I still found the most telling thing to be if they made eye contact when I spoke with them. If I say I am looking for more mature tenants, I expect to hear some reassurance on that front, not stoney silence. Stuff like that.
Hope this helps.
Peace.
I’ll second, but for a different reason. I’m allergic to certain kinds of industrial detergents used to clean carpets. I’ve cleaned my own carpets, walked on them, and broken out in a nasty rash. Sorry, but your nice, clean carpets will be trod upon with shoes.
Robin
And I’ll third, with a whole new reason:
Taking off your shoes to go look around an apartment you might rent, without being told to, is WEIRD.
Agreed.
When being shown around a place, I am the guest of the agent. Maybe this is just a UK thing, but they’re going to get a huge fee outta me if I sign, so I’m going to do whatever I want in the meantime.
You all who want to sully my freshly cleaned carpets are welcome to do as you please. I don’t require, or even ask folks to remove their footwear. I do doff my shoes at the door because I don’t want to track mud, dirt and other assorted nasties throughout my rental, what’s more, I’ll do the same thing in your home. I mentioned using it as a tool, nothing more. If I have equally qualified potential tenants, the one who respects the property will get preference every time.
I take a great deal of pride in the fact that my rentals are spotless and in good repair before I rent them out. How would you feel about renting a place that has filthy carpeting?
While I am picky about my tenants, I do treat them fairly and quickly respond to their needs. I’ve been in this business a long time, I’ve made plenty of mistakes and learn constantly.
I’m with you Jeeves, in that I think timely (or delinquent) rent payments should be reported to the credit companies, after all, rent is usually one’s greatest monthly expense. I have done so in the past to try and educate slow-paying tenants about the necessity of paying on time. I’ve even offered some tenants the option of having their rents reported to help them build credit, as I have that capability, but none have ever taken me up on it because it adds about six dollars a month to their rent bill.
Yes, Sengkelat, asking a reference for more references does work. All I have to do is ask and be willing to listen. While some do decline to give further references, most do.
Yet another “screw the no-shoes rule” post.
I used to take my shoes off at some peoples’ houses, until one day I and my two roommates met at our prospective landlord’s house to sign the papers and leave a deposit check.
Our landlord’s wife opened the door and motioned us in, making it clear that we were to remove our shoes. She was wearing house-slippers. We did. We then were shown into the living room, where our landlord was waiting for us with the papers to sign. The very first thing I noticed was the fact that he was afflicted with the single most horrifying case of foot fungus I could even possibly imagine. That picture was the worst I could find with a quick google image search, and doesn’t hold a candle to the specter of this man’s rotten, gnarled feet, and inch-thick toenails like yellowed roof-shingles.
And there we were, bare, vulnerable tootsies wallowing in this man’s cast-off fungus spores, or whatever you call them when they grow on feet.
Never, never will I remove my shoes in someone’s house that I don’t intimately know.
Except that, as Lynn Bodoni and I both pointed out, there may be health consequences to “respecting the property”. If all things are equal and you deny housing to someone on the basis of whether they take their shoes off to enter the property, you could be setting yourself up for a lawsuit.
Robin
So, sue me.
As if I’m gonna tell you why I picked someone else over you.
If you’re so uptight that me scraping my shoes off on the welcome mat before entering isn’t enough “respect for the property” I doubt I want to rent from you anyway. Jeez.
