Posted by Bill on March 04, 2000 at 21:18:45:
Matt…get credit reports ALWAYS done on prospective applicants. Prospects will pay for the credit check,so it’s free to you.
Qualifying Tenants - Posted by Matt
Posted by Matt on March 04, 2000 at 13:22:54:
I have chance to Lease Option my Home, 115M value, 106M Mortgage, PITI $760/month. Could make some decent cash flow I think.
My question: How can I make sure the tenants/future owners don’t trash the property? I guess that is one of my biggest fears. I realize there is only so much you can find out but I’d still like to hear from the pros.
Thanks,
Matt
Re: Qualifying Tenants - Posted by Bert G
Posted by Bert G on March 05, 2000 at 12:19:43:
SCREEN SCREEN SCREEN. Not only do credit checks, but call previous landlord, maybe even take a drive past their current residence. These days even a criminal background check might not be out of the question. If you don’t have a convenient credit screening system already in place, there is one available at Mr Landlord’s website at
He also has a lot of articles on tenant screening.
There is no way to absolutely gauranteeing a tenant wont mess the place up unless you’re living with them, but most tenants are decent folks, especially if they will eventually own the house. Of course there is always a risk. After over 20 years as a landlord I still get stuck once in a while. But the better the background check the less your risk. (If you let the applicants know up front how thoroughly you’re going to check, it weeds out a lot of the riffraff).
BG