Warning Signs for Incoming Tenants

red flagHere are some warning signs for incoming tenants offered as a guest post in regards to some tenant quirks that may make for a bad tenant.  It is a great list, most of which I agree with, although some are not as much of a red flag.  Some are a bit non-conventional, and others are spot on.  (I might fail a few myself, especially the ones about how the tenant  is dressed…)

Warning Signs

Not all tenants that exhibit these behaviors are going to be terrible, high-risk tenants.  Each one, in and of itself, is not necessarily bad.  If you have a list, and start checking each item as you interview the tenant, the more red check marks you have the worst the tenant is likely to be.

Of course, income and credit score are the best indicators.  This is also a great list for tenants to read.  It might help you appear more ‘normal’ to a landlord (whatever normal is…).  Things like intimidating the landlord, cursing excessively, and objecting to a background check are a pretty bad indicator.

It is a great read, and you can see how many you might fail yourself.

1.They try and get you to lower the rent before they even see the apartment.

This is a sure sign that this tenant can’t really afford the property. Asking before the showing means that the value of the property means little to them, they only care about the cost.

 Read More Here

What do you think of the ideas?  Do you have other things that people do that would make you hesitate to rent to?  

Do you have a list of landlord red flags?  If so, I could post that too!

3 Replies to “Warning Signs for Incoming Tenants”

  1. “They try and get you to lower the rent before they even see the apartment.” I’ve just encountered this one. Thanks for the head up!! As always, you’ve done this for so many years, I keep coming back for more wisdom.

    1. Thank you for the comment!

      I will sometimes lower the rent to someone that has high income AND extra high credit scores. AND they need to move in fairly quickly, so I do not have much vacancy.

      Most of the time the low offer people are marginal, at best.

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