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The New Landlord’s Guide to Tenant Screening
May 4, 2015
Tenant Screening: Love it or hate it, you need to do it if you don’t want to loose your shirt. This guide will show you everything you need to know, and keep you safe from FHA violations too. Remember, we’re not your lawyer and this is not legal advice. Screening tenants is about making sure you get the best tenants into your properties, by finding out everything there is to know about them. It’s more than just a credit score! Establish your basic requirements What do you want from your tenants? Income: 3x the monthly rent Credit: clear of collections Employment: last 2 years, continuously employed. Landlord references: positive Evictions: never ever ever. If someone has been evicted within the FCRA reportable time frame, you don’t want them. Crimes: No felonies, no sex offenders. Some landlords don’t like misdemeanors or violent misdemeanors. Always make sure to check with your state and local laws regarding arrest records, expunged convictions and the like. Regulation varies widely across locations. Stop the bad tenant before they apply Tenants who don’t meet requirements won’t often apply! Make sure all of your requirements are clearly stated in your Ads (Craigslist, Zillow, Trulia, Offline, Facebook, Apartments.com Rent.com etc) on your application form, and during your phone interviews as well! Remember: Be impartial like a robot: Use an Application Form Communicate Requirements Use them for everyone 3. Start screening your prospective tenants Employment Check: Is the tenant gainfully employed? Can you verify that the company exists? Is the phone number of their supervisor a company land line? Are the W2s legit? Does the company show up on a service like the Work Number? Does the Tenant make enough money to pay your rent, with enough left over for all their other expenses? How long have they been working? Are there large, unexplainable gaps in employment over the past few years? What if the tenant is not employed or their income is insufficient? Your best bet is to reject them. If you can’t or everything else is clear, then you should get a co-signer on the lease. The co signer needs to meet all of the rental criteria themselves. No co signer? You can try a rental guarantee bond, but probably you should just move on. Credit Check: What is the tenant’s credit score? Are there any delinquencies, bankruptcies, collections or other bad marks on the credit report? Does the tenant regularly pay their bills on time? How often do they miss payments? Tenant Rental Verification: What do previous landlords say about the tenant? Were they respectful and meet all of the rules of their previous rentals? Go back as many rentals as possible. The current landlord may lie to you just to get rid of a problem tenant. If most references are good, accept the tenant. Bad landlord references should warrant a conversation with the tenant and usually a denial. Search Eviction Records: Make sure to search use a service (like PMGuardian, hint hint), that searches national evictions, as well as liens and judgements. Make sure to cover AKAs and maiden names. Be wary of similar sounding names who are not the same person. Remember that there...
read moreHow to Flip a House – Kitchens 4 of 15 (Video)
May 1, 2015
When we’re teaching investors how to flip a house, the importance of the kitchen rehab cannot be stressed enough. Kitchens sell homes! In this video, Andrew shows you how to flip a house and rehab that kitchen so the end result is a top-notch, eye-catching product! Our video library helps any investor learn how to flip a house. In today’s video I’ll be discussing: How granite can make a huge difference in your investment! Click here to watch the video. Want to learn more? Click here to check out last week’s post! ...
read moreSeason 1, Episode 14: 6 Ways to Screen Your Tenants [Podcast]
April 29, 2015
Listen to the Audio http://andrewcordle.me/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Podcast-S1E14.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download Click here for audio. Watch the Video Click here to watch the video. Today on the iFlipuFlip podcast we’re discussing six different ways you can screen your tenants as a landlord. I’ll be going over: Why tenants are the most important investment in your rental property How these free methods should be used Utilities collections and why they matter The importance of eviction notices on an application Why appearance matters The behavior of applicant’s children The reason you should look at an applicant’s car How to use social media to your advantage What visiting an applicant’s current residence can prove “Personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures” -F. Scott Fitzgerald Click To Tweet Binge on All of the Current Episodes! If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all of the currently released episodes of Season 1 Here. I release both audio and video episodes weekly. Share the Love If you enjoyed this week’s Podcast, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the Podcast. Subscribe to my Podcast ...
read moreMy Bigger Pockets One Year Anniversary!
April 29, 2015
One of the things I most enjoy in life is taking a brief moment to look back on what I’ve done. Also the positives and negatives that come along with my decisions. Recently I noticed that I was coming up on my one year anniversary of becoming a member of Bigger Pockets. While learning the proper way to post on Bigger Pockets my account was suspended. I was completely shut out ☺. But after those first few months, I have thoroughly enjoyed my times spent on Bigger Pockets. For those that may think that there is no advantage or opportunity in being a part of Bigger Pockets, I can say that’s 100% wrong! Throughout the past year I’ve made valuable contacts with a handful of wholesalers, a few contractors, and a whole bunch of investors. Thanks to Bigger Pockets, I’m wrapping up my ninth transaction with a BP contact. That’s one transaction per month in the time I’ve been involved on the site! What I want the Bigger Pockets newbies to know is that the majority of those nine transactions came at the very END of my first year. I didn’t jump on the site and immediately get lenders or investors; I put a full year into using the site with little to no return. However, the more time I invested in this site, the more dividends it’s paid me. To the new investors on Bigger Pockets, the first thing I would tell you is to get involved in the forums. I see many posts or comments where people admit that they’ve been lurking in the background but finally came out to introduce themselves. I can’t help but wonder where I’d be today if I’d JUST started posting on Bigger Pockets. I’m about 100% sure that I wouldn’t have nine different transactions with nine different investors that I met on Bigger Pockets. So again, let me urge you rookie investors and members to please get involved in the community. Make some posts and comments. Write a few blogs. It will pay off, but you MUST give before you can receive. I would also like to encourage you to be sure that your profile is adequate. I see so many newbie members that don’t even have a picture or have a tiny “about me” section. Put up a professional looking profile picture; create a detailed “about me” section. To really stand out, become a pro or plus member and make a video introduction of yourself. Write blogs and get involved in the blogs department. Within my first year, I’m coming up on 600 colleagues, 100 followers, close to 600 comments, and 14 awards. These things didn’t happen by accident. I understood the value of Bigger Pockets and made it a point to get highly involved in the site. Almost one year later, it has tremendously paid off for me. Where will you be one year from today? In regards to the more experienced Bigger Pockets members. I would just like to encourage you to continue to make posts. At this point, I’m not sure that more than a week or two goes by that someone does not message me or email me. Thanking me for answering questions and putting time into the Bigger Pockets forums. Smart,...
read moreHow to Flip a House – Kitchens 3 of 15 (Video)
April 24, 2015
When we’re teaching investors how to flip a house, the importance of the kitchen rehab cannot be stressed enough. Kitchens sell homes! In this video, Andrew shows you how to flip a house and rehab that kitchen so the end result is a top-notch, eye-catching product! Our video library helps any investor learn how to flip a house. In today’s video I’ll be discussing: How appliances can help your next flip! Click here to watch the video. Want to learn more? Click here to check out last week’s post! ...
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