Traits to Look for in a Potential Tenant

Finding a good tenant is essential, but it can also be tricky. It requires more than just putting an ad on the internet. To find a great tenant for your rental property, it pays to know what makes a good tenant.

So, we’ve created a list for you. These are 8 traits to look for in a potential tenant.

1. Openness Toward Background Checks It’s important for you as a landlord to know who you are renting to before you rent out your property. This is because you never know when a tenant is going to be reliable and worthwhile or seriously problematic.

A tenant background check is important for the following reasons:
• To find out if they have a criminal record • To choose the best tenants from your pool • To check their work history • To make sure that they will comply with your rules • To confirm your tenant’s rental history • To know which questions to ask during screening • To confirm their identity

2. Reasons for Moving Tenants move for various reasons. For example:
• To change their neighborhood • They had problems with neighbors • A job change/relocation • The need for more space • They had problems with their previous landlord

Contacting their previous landlord isn’t 100% reliable, as some might throw an array of unjust accusations. The only option is to ask them directly. Granted, the tenant may lie but some of the reasons are quite straightforward and oftentimes completely honest answers.

3. Personal Behavior You should call up tenant’s previous landlords to ask how they were personally. Good questions to ask them include:
• Did the previous tenant pay the rent and on time? • Did they do a reasonably good job of taking care of the rental property? • Was the person disruptive towards neighbors? • Was the unit clean and in good order when the tenant left? • Was the tenant evicted?

4. Ability to Pay Rent This is a no-brainer. The prospective tenant should be able to pay rent without struggling. To verify whether they can afford the price of the rent, you need to look at their proof of employment.

Look for a tenant who has good job prospects and a steady, reliable income. A good rule of thumb is that the price of rent shouldn’t exceed 30% of the tenant’s income.

Some red flags to look out for include a person who has long periods of unemployment or if the person changes jobs often.

5. Cleanliness A good tenant maintains cleanliness. It’s every landlord’s dream to get a tenant who will take good care of your property. You obviously wouldn’t want a person who is going to let trash pile up on the patio or leave food remnants building up in the microwave.

You can get a better idea of the way they would maintain your property if you get a glimpse of their car or if they allow you to meet them at their current residence. You could also include a cleaning clause in your lease as well.

6. Subletting When you are a landlord, it’s important to protect yourself against as many potential risks as possible. This is the same reason why you have to do a proper tenant screening before renting out your property in the first place.

But should you allow a tenant to sublet? Subletting happens when an existing tenant lets all or part of their home to someone else.

Allowing subletting is risky. Some tenants want to sublet as a way to earn extra cash or to avoid paying rent on a vacant apartment. Also, there’s no guarantee that they would pay as much attention to the tenant selection as you did.

It would be counterintuitive to be okay with your tenant getting a couple of tenants of their own.

7. Roommates It’s important to know how many people are going to be living with your renter. The tenant might be planning to move in with their significant other or even their entire family.

Should you allow roommates, here’s how to do it smoothly while protecting your investment:
• Consider updating your occupancy limit • Be prepared to consider a unit switch • Be cautious about creating new lease terms • Require potential roommates to be screened as tenants

8. Plans for residence Your final layer of screening is a simple practicality test. If they have a job nearby, verify that your house is not an impractical distance away. If they have a family, check that there is a room for everyone in the home. If they have a pet, confirm that they are willing to conform to the pet clause in your lease agreement.

Generally, tenants will have an excellent plan for residence, but it never hurts to check.

If your prospective tenant possesses most of these traits, then they are a great candidate for a long-term renter. They will most likely keep the home in good condition, and that they will be responsible and well-behaved.

Source: realtybiznews.com

We’ve Launched Our New Website & Video!

WE’VE JUST LAUNCHED OUR NEW WEBSITE!

Here at Bev Roberts Rentals we are always looking to improve the services we offer. In an exciting step towards enhancing your experience, we have launched a brand new website. With a fresh look, feel and a new intuitive design, our new website is designed with you in mind. We are now mobile optimized! We understand your needs and how we can help you with a variety of leasing and management challenges. Fully optimized for mobile devices, our new site will allow you to access the information and services you need whether you’re at your desk or on the move.

 

WE’VE JUST LAUNCHED OUR NEW VIDEO!

For us, family-owned and operated means a family feeling with a professional approach. When you call on us, you’re not calling upon strangers for assistance, you’re working with our family. Serving customers directly is a primary part of our business model. We’re a family with values, beliefs and traditions, much like yours. That’s why we care on a personal level, not because it’s our business, but because it’s our way of life. As a family-owned and operated company, we take pride in providing you with more personalized services. Get to know our family better by pressing play below…

FORBES: Eight Reasons You Shouldn’t Manage Your Own Investment Properties

Purchasing an investment property is an exciting business venture. If your building is in good shape and you find the right tenants, you stand to earn a lot of money from your rental units.

At first it may seem like a good idea to manage your own property and retain full control over costs, tenants and income. However, self-management can often be a headache: When something breaks down or your tenants are late with rent, you bear the sole responsibility to address it.

Hiring a third-party property management company can be worth every penny, especially if you’re looking to grow your investment business over time. Members of Forbes Real Estate Council shared eight common scenarios in which it makes more sense to outsource your property management tasks.

1. If Real Estate Investing Is Your Side Hustle

If an investor has a full-time job and they are investing as a side hustle, I would suggest hiring a property manager from day one. If the investor is fully focused on real estate investing, it makes sense to bring in a third party once they reach 10 units. At that point, their time is better used looking at more deals versus collecting rents or dealing with tenant maintenance issues. – Ali Jamal, Stablegold Hospitality

2. If You Lack Housing Expertise

Investors should not manage their own properties in situations where they are not familiar with the type of housing being managed. For example, with affordable housing, there is much compliance involved and making a mistake can result in fines. In that scenario, property management is best left to third-party companies that specialize in affordable housing. – Nathaniel Kunes, AppFolio Inc.

3. If You Want To Maximize Your Time As A Passive Investor

Your time is valuable, and technology is opening up many outsourcing options by connecting investors with qualified professionals in property management and skilled labor. Take advantage of every opportunity to maximize yourtime. In fact, investment platforms are allowing people to diversify across several properties without ever picking up a hammer. – Nav Athwal, RealtyShares

4. If You Need To Fill In Skill Or Resource Gaps

Each investor’s access to resources and prior skills and knowledge needs to be reviewed before providing this type of recommendation. It needs to be personalized. An investor who is a handyman likely doesn’t need to pay someone to make repairs. Finding the right tenant can make or break success, so evaluating candidates may be the best area to have help, particularly at first. – Michelle Ames, HorsePower Team Texas/Independent Realty

5. If You Don’t Have Time To Learn The Laws And Run It As A Business

Outsourcing will avoid legal liabilities from Fair Housing and Fair Credit Reporting Acts, state landlord-tenant laws and local regulations. Property managers will have resources that can perform services for less. You’ll also be less likely to lose income from tenants who don’t pay their rent or rents that end up being below market. – Alex Hemani, ALNA Companies

6. If Your Properties Are Located In Different Markets

Using third-party management is usually advisable when properties are located in different markets, as well as when owners don’t have the time or skills required to manage the property effectively. While it is tempting to save the 7-8% management fee typically paid to property managers, there are a host of tasks they take care of to keep the property occupied, cash-flowing and maintained. – Gary Beasley, Roofstock

7. If You’re New To Being A Landlord

You should hire a third-party manager if you’re new to being a landlord and don’t completely understand local ordinances and leasing practices, or don’t have all the contacts needed for repairs and maintenance items. A good third-party manager will know all of the above and you will learn them over time. – Lee Kiser, Kiser Group

8. If You Want To Scale Your Investment Business

If you want a large income property portfolio, don’t self-manage beyond one to two years. After that time, you will be better able to understand “a manager’s perspective.” Your highest and best use isn’t faucet repair or replacing bathrooms. It’s researching geographic markets and establishing competent teams. If you self-manage, ask yourself better questions like, “How scalable is this?” – Keith Weinhold, Get Rich Education

Source: forbes.com

How Tenant Screening Changed In 2017

One of the most important things that property owners and landlords can do to prevent problems with renters is to conduct a thorough tenant screening. The best tenant screening reports cover areas like criminal record, eviction history and credit score. Without it, landlords increase their risk of dealing with tenants that have a history of unpaid rent, costly damages and evictions.

However, there were two major changes in 2017 that affected the way that landlords get information from tenant screening efforts.

National Consumer Assistance Plan

The National Consumer Assistance Plan (NCAP) is a joint venture between the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Transunion. The plan stems from a settlement in 2015 between more than 30 state attorneys general and the three major credit bureaus.

The goal of NCAP is to boost the accuracy of the information on the credit report, among other things. One of the ways they plan to do this is by decreasing the reporting of such public records such as tax liens, parking tickets and civil judgments. So how does this affect landlords?

The new reporting changes are especially critical for landlords because evictions are civil judgments and as of July 1, 2017, they disappeared from credit reports of any prospective tenants. If tenant screening companies provide landlords with just a credit report as part of an applicant’s background check, the landlord will have no insight into that person’s rental history.

Landlords need to check with their tenant screening service to ensure that they are now using an alternative source to discover any eviction judgments on an applicant. There are several national companies that do provide information on forcible detainer and unlawful detainer judgements for tenant screening companies. It’s now the only way that landlords can get information on prior evictions.

Because of the extra cost involved in using a national eviction search, many tenant screening companies are increasing their fees and passing the cost on to their clients. Landlords may have to charge more for their application fees (if allowable in their state) to cover their own costs.

Any landlord that wants a thorough background check on an applicant must ensure that the tenant screening service they now use includes this separate eviction search.

Equifax Breach

One of the country’s largest credit reporting companies experienced a data breach that compromised information for more than 145 million customers. The company experienced unauthorized access to data from May through June and key identity information was accessed, including names, birthdays, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers and more.

Because of the massive potential for identity theft, many consumers placed a freeze on their credit report. With a freeze, potential creditors are unable to access someone’s report without the consumer removing it temporarily. This prevents anyone from opening a line of credit with that information, including identity thieves. However, it also prevents landlords from accessing the info they need to get a complete picture of their applicants.

Landlords need to be aware that identity theft and fraud will be on the rise as a result of the data breach, affecting innocent applicants. They should also know that because many people have put a freeze on their report, their tenant screening company may not be able to access anything without consent.

During the application process, landlords can make things go a little more smoothly with any applicants that have set up a freeze. Many tenants don’t think about unlocking their credit report for a background check on a rental home. Landlords can ask applicants or include a reminder on the application about lifting the freeze temporarily. If the applicant can’t or won’t lift the freeze in a timely manner, landlords may have to move to the next applicant.

Despite the freeze on a credit, landlords should never change their tenant screening practices. When looking for the best tenants, landlords need to get a good idea of what kind of renter an applicant will be. Proper tenant screening will always save landlords time, damages and money. However, in 2017, these two factors just made it a little more difficult for landlords and tenant screening companies to get the background information they need.

Source: realtybiznews.com

Abandonment of Rental Property

What to Do if a Tenant Abandons the Property

by Attorney William Bronchick, Legalwiz.com

Have you ever had a tenant leave in the middle of the night or the middle of an eviction?  Did you ever wonder what to do?

Basically when a tenant abandons the property, you do not need to file an eviction or wait for the sheriff.  You can change the locks.  As for the tenant’s stuff, in most states you can simply toss it.  You should check your state or local law to see what your legal obligation is to store the items for the tenant.

HOWEVER…

If you are not certain whether the tenant has abandoned the property, you should not change the locks.  If you have the keys, you could enter the premises, but KNOCK FIRST.  Whether or not the tenant has abandoned is often a judgment call, looking at a combination of factors, such as:

• Did the neighbors see them move?
• Are the utilities shut off?
• Did the tenant put in a change of address at the post office?
• Is there any significant furniture left?
• If you have access, are there sheets on the beds?

In some cases, the tenant has been arrested or is in the hospital, which would explain why he hasn’t been around.  Or, maybe the tenant has moved, but left behind some furniture to pick up later on.  Even if the tenant is not sleeping there, they are still “in possession” if they have their personal belongings in the unit and have not shown an intent to abandon these items.

Some states have specific laws regarding PRESUMPTIONS of abandonment.  For example, Connecticut law states:

Sec. 47a-11b. Abandonment of unit by occupants. Landlord’s remedies.
(a) For the purposes of this section, “abandonment” means the occupants have vacated the premises without notice to the landlord and do not intend to return, which intention may be evidenced by the removal by the occupants or their agent of substantially all of their possessions and personal effects from the premises and either

(1) nonpayment of rent for more than two months or
(2) an express statement by the occupants that they do not intend to occupy the premises after a specified date.

You can find a state by state guide to landlord tenant law by clicking here. If you do intend to claim abandonment, take pictures, gather evidence and cover all bases to prepare for a possible wrongful lockout claim.  If you have ANY doubts, call your landlord-tenant attorney and do the proper legal eviction proceeding.

The Landlord Protection Agency would like to thank William Bronchick for supplying the article above.

About the author…
William Bronchick, Esq. is an author and attorney who regularly presents workshops and do-it-yourself seminars at real estate and landlord associations around the country. He is the president and co-founder of the Colorado Association of Real Estate Investors. Bill specializes in all forms of asset protection and is the author of several great home study courses.

Read more articles by William Bronchick at Legalwiz.com.

Source: The Landlord Protection Agency, Inc.