The Origins of Tenancy

Dealing with Bad Tenants has long been an issue in the real estate community.

As long as there have been houses, there has been what we call a “bad tenant”.

Well, tenants come in all shapes and sizes. Some bad, some good.

 

We all know good tenants are those that pay their rent on time, keep the house clean, and are respectful and accepting of the house or apartment in which they pay a consistent fee to live in.

They don’t damage the property during their stay and they stay forever or leave in a smooth transition.

So, what really is a bad tenant anyway?

A bad tenant is likely someone who exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:

• irresponsible
• disrespectful
• unable to pay
• not creditworthy
• dishonest
• unclean
• dramatic

If you are experiencing any issues with your tenant, check to see if they exhibit any of these characteristics. You could try confronting them early to possibly prevent the situation from becoming any worse. You won’t know until you try.

Ensure you are Doing Proper Tenant Screening

As you know with all problems in life, it is always best to do more on preventing them than to have to extinguish them later on. In the context of Real Estate Investing, this means performing due diligence on the house and property to first make it attractive, safe, and livable. Then, it means ensuring the people who will be living in it (after agreeing to buy it from you) have a quality reputation financially and lawfully.

The first step to do this to have your tenant fill out a rental application. A rental application usually covers a brief personal resume of the applicant and a personal reference of choice.

After filling out the rental application, you will then check their credit report, their employment, their bank account information, and their landlord references.

Now, if they don’t pass one of these tests you automatically know something is wrong.

However, what if they get through these financial requirements and are still causing problems down the line?

For a complete and detailed overview of how the screening process of a tenant works please Click Here.

 

And finally, the last method of ensuring quality tenants. 

Having Good Judgement

Who would have guessed the final secret of the formula is no secret at all?

That’s right. Having good judgment isn’t just important in life, but in choosing your tenants.

These are just a few ideas on how to know if your tenant is a good candidate for your property. So, when in doubt, weigh all the pros and cons you can conceive and decide with your own heart if the tenant is a match for your house or apartment.

If it just turns out the tenant is causing more harm than good, you may need to evict your tenant.

To see the complete process for evicting a tenant please see our article Evicting a Tenant- Steps to Take.