Top 5 Tenant Excuses

You think you’ve heard them all before, but then your tenant drops another crazy one. What are some of the worse excuses you’ve ever been given by tenants?

 

1. “But, it’s Christmas!”  Has there ever been a more frustrating excuse for not paying rent than the holidays? Some tenants actually think their “obligation” to buy presents outweighs their lease obligation to pay rent.

 

2. “That dog you see/hear on the property is not ours, therefore shouldn’t require us to pay a pet deposit or be evicted.” It doesn’t matter to whom the animal belongs to. If your lease prohibits pets, or requires an added security deposit than that is the rule governing the property.

 

3. “I smoke marijuana for medical reasons.” Anyone claiming this better have a really authentic doctor’s note. Also, it is still your right to include a smoking ban of ANY kind in your lease.

 

4. “My job won’t pay me.” This is why employment verification is so important. If someone has a legitimate job, they should be getting legitimately paid. Do your part to make sure you are renting to individuals who will not make excuses for late payments due to sketchy employment situations.

 

5.  “But my last landlord let me paint.” Again, if you don’t want tenants to do certain things then make sure your lease indicates just that. Be very clear on what is and isn’t allowed in your rental.

 

For this and more information about screening tenants, please visit our website at http://www.alwaysscreen.com.

Gold Medal Landlords

In honor of the Sochi Winter Olympics, ATS Inc. would like to recognize these landlords for their Gold Medal performance in the industry!

 

Bronze Medal: Shorenstein Building Management Company

 

In 2010, Shorenstein sought to reduce operating costs through energy efficiency measures. How did they do it? By implementing several programs to raise consumption awareness among tenants. Some tactics included turning down lights during non-peak business hours and flipping off key building functions on Saturday’s.  The company was able to trim $1.7 million off of their expenses for the year, and they also curbed their carbon monoxide emissions by 4,800 metric tons annually.

  

Silver Medal: Preservation Development Partners

This company recently purchased an affordable housing complex in the Bronx, and plans to keep the units accessible to low-income residents for at least another twenty years.

The building is houses 252 units, which will remain at a reduced-rate of 30% of residents income. The new owners are planning to spend about $35,000 per unit in renovation costs, and are now being praised for having the “tenants best interests at heart.”
 

Gold Medal: Willow Tufano

At the tender age of 14 Willow became a landlord in Florida.

Willow now owns two properties at the age of 16, and was recently featured in a film that promotes alternatives to public schools. Kudos to Willow on being one amazing real estate investor!

 

For this and more great landlord stories, and to get the fast, reliable tenant screening reports, please visit our website at http://www.alwaysscreen.com.