Credit Reports:  In the recession, it is not enough to review a prospective tenants credit report.   You need to verify that your tenant can continue to pay the rent.   Make they sure they sign a release form and obtain employment and income verification.   Some employers are hesitant to provide information about their employers work performance but they will provide employment status, position, and sometimes date of hire.   Ask your tenant to provide you with a current pay stub.   You should be able to tell from the paystub how long they have been working for the firm.  Cross reference this with employment verification.   A good background checking firm, such as Corra Group, can provide a thorough employment verification for you and will get all the information that an employer is willing to release.   They can also provide access to credit reports at a reasonable price.  Keep in mind you will need to pass an onsite compliance inspection that usually costs around $57.00.    Depending on how many units you have to rent, this may be worthwhile.   Also, you can charge the cost of the credit report to the prospective tenant.   If the tenant brings in their own credit report, try to determine the chain of custody.  Perhaps they order it on their laptop in your office?

If you are having trouble getting any information from previous landlords, you may want to par down a bit and just try to verify length of residence.  Then run an Eviction Search on your prospective tenant to determine if any problems occurred.   Between the eviction search, paystub, verified employment and residence, you should have a good portrait of your prospective tenant.

Payment Terms-  Renters have been paying later and later in the month, eking out precious days to save month.  Make your maintain strict compliance with your rental agreement and subject to the laws of your community, state and country.   Maintain correspondence with your tenants and enact late fees as needed. Stay out in front of a potential problem by keeping those lines of communication open.   If you suspect there’s a problem, learn your rights.  Study your landlord laws and determine what you can do and when you can do it.   For example, you might want to determine if your  tenant has totally vacated the premises.  Determine what is your legal right to inspect.   As far as receiving payment from tenants, most people hate having to obtain an official check or cashier’s check each month.  If your tenant has shown good faith in the beginning, try allowing them to pay with a check, they will appreciate it.  If it bounces, move back to cashier’s checks.  If your tenant can pay with direct deposit, try to make it an automatic deposit that occurs on a certain day of the month.   You will appreciate the consistency and so will your tenant.  Their may be fees associated with the automatic deposit, and again, you can pass the cost onto the tenant.  Also, there are services that allow tenants to pay over the phone, with credit card, etc.  you can provide your tenants with this option.

Good luck and happy renting!!

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Search of the subject’s name on Twitter shows the dialogue is just starting about this subject.   Currently her name is becoming a cautionary tale among twitters, but it should be curious how the case plays out. 

From a tenant management perspective, a business should always consider the ramifications of a defamatory lawsuit.  The CBS article about the lawsuit has reached the lofty Internet heights of the Drudge Report and presumably the whole world is now aware of the situation.   Had the company done nothing the defamation (if real) would have been limited to her twitter followers.  Now with the media falling in love with Twitter and composing non-stop love puff pieces about its technology, this management firm has become a potential worldwide tweet target for an army of  tech-heavy populists.  Some public relations professionals content that even bad news is good news (but they might be just selling their Crisis Management capabilities)   The lawsuit might force the tenant to stop tweeting, but the unintended bad PR might sink the firm.

We all have horror stories about nightmare tenants; sometimes no matter how promptly you provide service and repair, your tenant will continue to complain and complain, etc.  We remember a recent decision by Sprint Wireless to cut off 300 of its own customers.   After a study of their customer relations Sprint realized that these 300 users were responsible for a huge amount of their customer service budget. By cancelling their business relationship with these customers Sprint saved money and was able to provide better customer service to their remaining millions of customer who do not hassle their customer serciceagents.  With this in mind it might be worth considering how much your nightmare tenant is costing you.

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Chicago Sun

Rental income can cover some or all of the mortgage payments, freeing you from having to dole out the entire amount each month. You might even make a profit if your monthly expense is low enough.

The problems arise from the human element of dealing with your tenants.  It’s best to learn the local laws regarding your rights and responsibilities.

Disputes with tenants over tenant rights and unpaid rent could require legal representation and legal fees. – State, local and federal statutes must be understood and followed, with failure to do so often resulting in fines.

Always establish and maintain lines of communication with your tenants, and make sure they understand the terms of the lease.  One of the best ways to protect yourself from problem tenants is to run background checks on them.   With a signed release, you can run your prospective tenant’s credit history, criminal history, and eviction records.  Most background checks for tenant screening are instant, but you can also conduct a more thorough review of county house records if you feel it is important.  The credit report will provide you with valuable information about your tenant’s financial responsibility.   

 
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