In today’s session, I will cover the top questions we ask during a landlord reference.
What is a Landlord Reference?
A landlord reference is when we call a previous or current landlord to verify a tenant’s qualifications.
As a property management company, we want to call two landlords. Why? Because the first current landlord, if you have a horrible tenant applicant, is going to say anything to get their tenant out of there.
“Yes, they’re fantastic,” or “Yes, they pay their rent.” With those answers, you will take them in, and then you will assume the problems that these people want to get rid of.
If we go back to two landlords, what ends up happening is that the previous landlord doesn’t have to deal with them anymore so they will tell you the truth. We always like to see a history of that.
Sometimes, it is not possible if they have lived there for a long time or are newer renters. But what we do, no matter what, is we check our references.
Questions to Ask Your Tenant’s Former Landlords
We ask previous or current landlords the following questions to check and ensure they have a good landlord reference.
Have the tenants paid their rent on time?
You don’t want to have a tenant that is late when it comes to paying their rent.
Have they paid all their rent, not just on time, but in general?
It is critical that you know when a tenant has gone above and beyond to pay their rent on time.
How have they been as residents? Has there been any neighbor complaints?
You want to ensure that the residents you are moving into your building aren’t causing issues for other people.
Do they take care of the property?
Are they treating it like a house, or are they trashing it? There is no point in maintaining curb appeal if your property is left in a mess by a difficult tenant.
Would you rent to them again?
And I think this is a huge one. And again, you want to hear from pauses. Everybody might say, “yeah, we’d rent to them again.”
That hesitation might mean something, so you should ask them, “Okay, what is it that you wouldn’t rent to them again? What about them would you change?”
Have they fulfilled every lease obligation or broken any rules and regulations?
And again, if there is any hesitation, you might want to dig further into it. And if not, great.
So if they get green flags and the right answers for all of these questions that we currently ask their current or previous landlord, then that’s definitely an OK to keep proceeding with the applications and approve them.
But if any of these are red flags, if you don’t get good answers, or if there is hesitation, issues, or problems that come up, you should consider their application and debate if you want to approve them moving into your house.
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To learn how to spot problem tenants in advance and not have to deal with them in the first place, join the Landlord Tutor community and sign up here.
Having pets in your rental units adds liability and costs. But there are still ways to manage your property and remain pet-friendly while minimizing your liabilities. Here’s how.
Should Pets Be Allowed in Rental Properties?
The typical answer is yes, but with restrictions and at a cost.
Pets are everybody’s best friend. But does everybody take care of their pets, and does the pet take care of the property?
We typically increase the rent by a certain amount every single month. In different states, they might allow you to take additional pet security. In Massachusetts, however, that is not allowed.
So, what we do is increase the rent for you to be able to make more income as a landlord. In addition, we add on inspections through the property to ensure that the pets are “taking care of the place” and that nothing is being damaged in your unit.
How to Make Your Property Pet-Friendly
My property management company has a pet lovers guarantee and screening application process for tenants with pets.
Aside from the walkthrough inspections, make sure that you have restricted breeds. That means your property insurance should say you are not allowed to have certain breeds on the property, such as Dobermans or Pitbulls.
You should also limit the pet’s size and weight. It is usually limited to 25 pounds, typically restricting bigger breeds.
When the tenants go through the pet application process, you can also charge them for monthly damage protection.
Doing these will make you stand out because most landlords won’t allow pets in their units. We respect that, but there are still ways to make any unit pet-friendly while protecting it from any possible damage.
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To know more about managing pet-friendly units and whether you should allow pets, join the Landlord Tutor community and sign up here.
Getting the right tenant is a crucial part of renting your property. Here’s how to pre-screen the best tenant possible through their landlord and work verifications.
Are Landlord and Work Verifications Necessary?
I get this question a lot. But as I always say, it never fails to stick to the 5Ps: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.
There is no way to determine right off the bat if your tenants are a good fit. But landlords, with the help of property managers, can always plan ahead and strategize.
One way to do that is through landlord and work verifications. Like credit scores, they are early indicators of good tenancy history and financial status.
What to Ask During Landlord Verification
I include landlord verification during the screening process where the tenant-applicant will be required to provide some information about their former landlords.
If they refuse or hesitate, you can probably guess that they didn’t have a good relationship with their previous landlord.
But if the applicant complies and you are able to reach their former landlord, here are a few questions you can ask about their former tenant:
Did the tenant pay their rent on time?
Did the tenant keep their unit in good condition?
How were they as tenants? What did you like most about them?
What type of situation, if any, did occur that they did not like?
Were there any neighbors that they didn’t get along with?
Why do you think are they moving?
Keep in mind that landlords can be incredibly busy, so you would want to set an appointment with them in advance. Be specific about the time and date, and emphasize how you would appreciate their feedback.
Furthermore, you may want to contact at least two of the applicant’s former landlords. This way, you can guarantee consistency and avoid any false information.
What to Ask During Work Verification
If your tenant-applicant provides their pay stubs, you can also use them. Pay stubs, also called payslips or paycheck stubs, indicate how much they are paid so you would know if they can pay the rent.
But looking beyond their ability to pay their bills, we want to get a grasp of their personality.
As such, here are some questions you can ask their employer or superior during work verification:
Does the tenant show up on time?
Are they disrespectful towards clients, superiors, or colleagues?
Do they get along with others?
Their attitude towards work is a reflection of their overall character, and that would let you know if they are the kind of tenant that you want to deal with.
Remember, you are not just looking for someone who has a paycheck and can pay the rent. These people will be living in your property and you will deal with them for a certain period of time.
It is important to screen tenant-applicants well and utilize the information you get from their landlord and work verifications.
The Landlord Tutor Promise
In all my years of managing over 800+ properties, I have seen and dealt with countless tenant applications.
If you or anyone else you know is looking for guidance on screening tenants, such as conducting landlord and work verifications, join the Landlord Tutor community and sign up here.
If you’re looking to hire a property manager, you may be wondering what questions to ask when hiring them. I have been a property manager for over 15 years, helping hundreds of other people manage their properties. I always suggest hiring a property manager but that doesn’t mean you need to.
Many times, if you have only one or two properties, you might be able to manage them yourself. However, there reaches a time when you either own too many or frankly, you might just not want to deal with the headaches of it. You want to enjoy the fruits of owning investment properties such as taking vacations and never have to worry about emergencies.
Here are the top nine questions to ask when hiring a property manager, which we categorized under the five major aspects of any real estate business.
On Management
1) How long have they been in business?
It’s important because if you have someone who is just doing it as a hobby or just started the business, they might not have any experience you need. They might offer the same price as other property managers who have been in the business longer.
2) What do they charge?
Is it a flat fee? Is it a percentage? Because if it is a percentage, their rate will go up as your rents go up, and if it’s a flat fee, it will stay the exact same, which they may or may not have a reason to increase your rent. Every good property manager should still increase your rent no matter what.
On Finances
3) How do they handle the financials?
Do they help you go through a budget versus actuals? Can they help you try to figure out what expenses you should be paying for and then help you analyze those every single year to determine if you were under or over that so you can proactively solve issues and problems?
On Proactiveness and Maintenance
4) What are they doing when it comes to solving problems?
How are they responding to them? How can they show you that they are being accountable or do they track their emails or they tracked their phone calls? Even when it comes to late-night maintenance, is it just an answering service? For example, in my property management company, we have emails and texts that we can show every step along the way of any emergency call.
5) How do they prevent problems?
We put emphasis on not having to solve problems but avoiding them in the first place. We are very proactive. In addition to doing things like newsletters and typical communication all throughout, we always set a time during the year to sit down and go through each person’s property.
On Communication
6) How do they contact you?
In case of emergencies or updates, how will you be notified? Will it be by email, phone, text message, or all of the above? Communication is a really important thing when it comes to any type of relationship. You want to make sure that you are very clear on how you expect to be communicated, and when.
On Rent Collection and Evictions
7) How do they collect the rent and when do they pay you?
Can they collect the rent when there are tenants that don’t have bank accounts, such as certain minorities? That might be a situation that you run into in the future depending upon where you are at.
8) What is their process for non-collection?
Do they actually go through the eviction process? Or do they just kind of talk to people and kick them out down the road? They should have a system set in place to deal with uncollected rent and abide by state laws on evictions.
9) Do they have attorneys?
Do they have a legal team to review all their paperwork and make sure it’s super airtight, or do they just use a standard form lease that they put together, maybe add into them through the years of what they have experienced?
In conclusion
The saying goes, you get what you pay for, so don’t be penny wise and pound foolish when picking a property manager. Make sure that they have a track record, and that they have experience dealing with the type of property that you have. More importantly, make sure to have a good working relationship with them.
If you don’t feel good about them, that is going to be something that you should be concerned about. At the end of the day, they are responsible for the most important and valuable asset that you have, and hiring a property manager is something that needs a high level of trust.
The Landlord Tutor Promise
Knowing what questions to ask when hiring a property manager can be difficult for new or aspiring landlords. If you or anyone else you know is looking to continue your education of being a landlord, join the Landlord Tutor community and sign up here.
