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Further
Reading ...
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Five Reasons For Preparing Your Own Baby Food
Here are 5 good reasons to start preparing your own baby food, as opposed to buying it in the store. 1. IT'S HEALTHIER AND MORE NUTRITIOUS Commercial baby foods contain additional fat, salt, sugar, fillers or other ingredients that are completely...
Online Dating Consideration Ideas
So, you’ve decided to take a chance and try online dating. You’ve checked out the sites, posted a little bit of information about yourself and what you’re looking for and possibly browsed the potential contacts that you would like to make....
Audible Books: The Evolution of Story Telling
In the days of old, stories were usually told orally from a tribal storyteller or one of the wise elders or chiefs. The next progression in storytelling came with the first hieroglyphics and visual representations of actual and mythical...
The John Wayne vs Apron String Approach to
My husband and I have different views on
parenting.
He likes to recount a scene from an old John Wayne
movie, "Hondo", where a young boy doesn't know how
to swim. Raised solely by his mother who was
never able to teach him, the boy was afraid...
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Checking Out Potential Tenants
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Written By:
dan the roommate man
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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 - continued below ...
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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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| _Additional Resources ... |
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The Modern Guide To Choosing The Best Pajamas
If you haven't shopped for pajamas in a while you will be surprised at the choice available out there. Gone are the days where you would only have one pair of pajamas, in cotton, with a collar and turn-ups. In recent years pajama ranges have...
Twins Pregnancy - a Father's Point of View
So you’re expecting twins. Congratulations!
Are you still in shock? I sure was. The thought of bringing two babies into the world at one time scared the heck out of me, especially since I was already the father of two boys (ages five and...
Makeup Tips for an Overdue Makeup check up
Makeup tips for an overdue makeup check up, thought it might be hard? It isn't as not as hard as one may think. No one wants to look older
than they really are, so when you get to certain ages, be it late 20's, late 30's, late 40's or older, it's...
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