New landlords beware: Some tenants or applicants
can be deceptive. If you are gullible and fall for the lies, you could lose
money on your investment. Here are some tips for spotting and exposing a tenant’s excuses.
“The bank messed up.” – This excuse might be given if a rent check bounces. Don’t be fooled. In
2013, banks have excellent technology and usually don’t make mistakes. However, it could happen. If a bank error did
occur, the tenant should easily be able to provide a letter sent directly from
their financial institution. If the tenant
cannot provide any letter from the bank, than you should be skeptical. Do not
waiver on charging a late fee.
“I just forgot to mail the rent check, again.” - It’s understandable that mistakes can happen
once in a blue moon. Chances are though if you let a tenant get away with it once, they will do it again and again.
Stay firm on charging your late fees. If you slap the tenant with a $25 fine, it’s likely they will not “forget” to mail
the rent again. Don’t be the nice landlord and let it slide month-after-month,
or you could be taken for a ride.
Falsifying employment. – A really deceptive tenant applicant might try to fake
their job status by providing landlords
with a phony phone number to their so-called place of employment. You should
verify all business telephone numbers with published listings, so you know if
the place you call for a reference is an actual employer. Also, conduct a
thorough tenant screening with employment verification included in the package.
Visit ATS Inc's homepage to find out more about our tenant screening services!
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