You may or may not want to include a question in application about whether or not he or she plans to get (or has) any pets. If your tenant has 2 Dobermans and plans on moving into a 500 square foot space with no yard... you may not want to rent to them. Not only could large pets cause expensive damages or stink up apartment, but it’s also unfair to animals! Do you want to rent to someone who cares that little for living creatures?

You will also need to have a clause in your rental application stating that you have right to perform criminal, personal and financial background checks on prospective tenants. If this clause is not present in tenant's signed application, you have no legal right to contact anyone from their past.

Once you've talked to past employers and landlords, you should be able to determine whether or not applicant would be a good addition to your establishment. If it looks like they have a good chance, you'll want to run a credit report on them to make double sure of your instinct.

Credit reports can be expensive ($35.00 - $50.00), so it's a good idea to only run them on applicants you've researched and feel good about. Some credit checking agencies will give discounted reports to landlords ($10.00 - $20.00) and if you would like to, you can ask your potential tenant to pay for some or all of credit report cost.

By checking out everything from past employees to credit, you will have enough information about applicant to decide whether or not you are going to accept application. The process may seem tedious, but finding out about a bad tenant before he lives in your complex is well worth your efforts.

According to nolo.com, if a neighbor is legally responsible to water damage you suffer, you may be entitled to:

* Compensation for cost of repairs and replacements. * Compensation for expenses such as having to stay at a motel. * Compensation for mental distress, if you have suffered an underlying physical injury. * Reimbursement for medical expenses.

Punitive damages, if a neighbor acted maliciously. For example, if it could be proven that neighbor Joe rigged kitchen sink leak up to specifically flood out Phyllis' living room out, then court would not only compensate Phyllis for damages, but may also order neighbor to pay extra money to her as punishment for malice.

However, if neither parties have a renter's insurance policy covering water damage, you'll have to go to small claims court to get compensation, and sometimes it's not even worth hassle. In order to avoid having to give in and pay for damages, or give up and go to court, it's important to invest in a good renter's insurance policy. Contact your local insurance agent to decide which policy gives you most coverage.

Another moral to story? When looking into rental property, it is incredibly important to scrutinize lease. Some landlords state specifically that they will keep all electrical and plumbing systems in good, working condition, but others - as in Phyllis' case, only claim responsibility for exterior upkeep of complex. If you are already living in a rental unit and your manager/landlord does not take care of these things, you should definitely invest in a good renter's insurance policy to avoid future problems.