The Importance of Being Earnest or Consulting the Prior Landlord

When trying to select a new tenant the ten thousand dollar question is always, “Will they pay the rent?” Of course, no one has a crystal ball and even good tenants can go bad, but there are ways to improve your chances. It all comes down to doing your homework and being thorough about it.

If your applicant has had a run in where they are living now, you can bet that their current landlord will be all too happy to send them on their way. They might even go so far as say wonderful things about them to you, just to get them out of their rental and pass the problem on to you.

What’s a landlord to do? Don’t stop there. Call the prior landlord and talk to them. They will have no pressing motivation to tell you any disinformation. Just make sure that you know who you are speaking with. A good way to know for certain is to see if the name and addresses your applicant has provided to you matches up with the information on their credit report. It doesn’t? Hmm. Maybe that’s just their friend talking to you on the phone.