The cost of renting to the wrong person can be enormous for a landlord. First, there is the missing rent when a renter does not pay at all. Or if a renter constantly pays late, then there is the cost of following up with the renter and collecting late fees. Going to court to evict a renter is not cheap either. And once the renter is out, you have to clean up the property and make it ready to lease again – hopefully the renter has not trashed the place! So here are a few red flags that the rental application you have could be a future headache.
Red Flag #1 – “I need to move right away.”
While there are occasionally reasons why someone may need to find a new place immediately, most normal people plan ahead. They go out looking for a new place 30 days or more ahead of their expected moving day. But if you talk to an experienced property manager, almost all of them will tell you the same thing: the most common reason someone needs to move right away is that they are getting evicted from their current place and need to find a new home before the constables come and force them to move out. Evaluate why they need to move into a new place very carefully.
Check back tomorrow for Red Flag #2