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A Rocker For All Ages
Rocking chairs have survived the test of many generations and a million sleepless nights. They come in fine wood, soft supple upholstery and even woven and painted. Yes, they all, each and every one of them, find a way into someone's memory, a...
Girl Talk - Boy Talk
Chas and Dave wrote a song about it and how right they were. Women just love to rabbit! Whether you calling it chatting, nattering, gassing or just plain talking, we're way ahead of the opposition in the vocal stakes. Not that I'm saying it's a...
Mrs. Disney
Warren Beatty once observed," That if you get married in Hollywood, you should always do it before noon. That way if it doesn't work out, you don't kill your evening." But in 1925 Walt Disney, still getting his feet wet in Tinseltown was not...
Postpartum Depression - Recognizing The Signs
In some cases, bringing home your brand new baby doesn't bring happy thoughts like the ones you were expecting. If this is the case, you may be suffering from postpartum depression. If you have suffered depression anytime before giving birth, your...
Raising Emotionally Intelligent Sons
“Mommy, I fell down,” said the 5-year-old to his mother during a recent soccer practice. “Were you tough?” asked his mom. “Yeah,” he said and walked away with his head down. I was at this soccer practice with my daughter, and feeling just a bit...
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Landlords: Checking out Potential Tenants
If you're the landlord of a complex in high demand, you have to have high standards for your tenants. You don't want to rent to any Joe Blow and then lose the building a month later because he's been growing an "herbal garden" in the bedroom. In order to avoid any complications with your new tenants, the background check you perform should be extensive.
Typical rental applications look something like this... but if your apartment or home is in high demand, you should have high demands on your applicants as well. Don't be afraid to ask more questions. Being a little nosy can save you from some future stresses.
The sample application asks for current employment information, but it's a good idea to request the previous employment information as well. Sally may be a great employee at Buck's Bar... but if she's only been employed there for a few weeks, it's a good idea to contact her previous employer. Did she walk out? Was she constantly late? Was she fired for inappropriate behavior?
Likewise, you'll want the tenant's previous (not only current) landlord contact information. If you only talk to your applicant's current landlord you may hear nothing but wonderful things, but that landlord may just be saying them to get rid of the terrible tenant! The previous landlord, however, has nothing to lose by telling you the blunt truth. Find out if the applicant was consistent with payments, or if he or she caused any trouble for the other tenants.
Ask about annual income. According to many property managers, rent should not be more than 33 percent of income. If you do the math, and it doesn't look like the applicant will be able to afford rent, you should ask them about their plan. Robert Irwin, author of The Landlord's Troubleshooter, Dearborn, asks applicants bluntly: "Do you figure you'll be able to handle the monthly rent payments?" Irwin explains that good tenants will usually spout off how they plan to budget for the apartment. It's still important
to check out their finances through their employer and credit history to find out if they're telling the truth.
You may or may not want to include a question in the application about whether or not he or she plans to get (or has) any pets. If your tenant has 2 Dobermans and plans on moving into a 500 square foot space with no yard... you may not want to rent to them. Not only could the large pets cause expensive damages or stink up the apartment, but it’s also unfair to the animals! Do you want to rent to someone who cares that little for living creatures?
You will also need to have a clause in your rental application stating that you have the right to perform criminal, personal and financial background checks on prospective tenants. If this clause is not present in the tenant's signed application, you have no legal right to contact anyone from their past.
Once you've talked to past employers and landlords, you should be able to determine whether or not the applicant would be a good addition to your establishment. If it looks like they have a good chance, you'll want to run a credit report on them to make double sure of your instinct.
Credit reports can be expensive ($35.00 - $50.00), so it's a good idea to only run them on applicants you've researched and feel good about. Some credit checking agencies will give discounted reports to landlords ($10.00 - $20.00) and if you would like to, you can ask your potential tenant to pay for some or all of the credit report cost.
By checking out everything from past employees to credit, you will have enough information about the applicant to decide whether or not you are going to accept the application. The process may seem tedious, but finding out about a bad tenant before he lives in your complex is well worth your efforts.
About the Author
Since 1989 dan the roommate man has helped 1000's of people find roommates. Need help? Contact him at 800-487-8050 or www.roommateexpress.com
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