Landlords: Checking out Potential Tenants

Written by dan the roommate man


Continued from page 1

You may or may not want to include a question inrepparttar 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 couldrepparttar 110466 large pets cause expensive damages or stink uprepparttar 110467 apartment, but it’s also unfair torepparttar 110468 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 haverepparttar 110469 right to perform criminal, personal and financial background checks on prospective tenants. If this clause is not present inrepparttar 110470 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 notrepparttar 110471 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 ofrepparttar 110472 credit report cost.

By checking out everything from past employees to credit, you will have enough information aboutrepparttar 110473 applicant to decide whether or not you are going to acceptrepparttar 110474 application. The process may seem tedious, but finding out about a bad tenant before he lives in your complex is well worth your efforts.



Since 1989 dan the roommate man has helped 1000's of people find roommates. Need help? Contact him at 800-487-8050 or www.roommateexpress.com


Don't Sign That Lease Yet

Written by dan the roommate man


Continued from page 1

If you agree to leaserepparttar unit only inrepparttar 110465 event thatrepparttar 110466 landlord or management company replacesrepparttar 110467 unit's carpeting, fixesrepparttar 110468 bathroom sink, allows your pet to live with you, includes a washer and dryer as part ofrepparttar 110469 deal or other conditions, again, get it in writing withrepparttar 110470 date of signature. Ifrepparttar 110471 landlord refuses to put your verbal agreement in writing or claims a sudden attack of carpal tunnel syndrome which prevents him from writing,repparttar 110472 red flag should be raised in your mind. Take your business elsewhere.

If it's too late -- you moved into your unit without getting verbal agreements in writing, and now you find yourself making repeated requests for maintenance or other repairs that are never performed -- many real estate law experts agree that threatening to withhold payment on your rent isn't a good idea. There's a good chance your landlord will win in court if you withhold payment without a signed agreement preserving your right to do so. In addition to facing stiff monetary penalties, you could find yourself evicted from your apartment and out onrepparttar 110473 street. In fact,repparttar 110474 State Bar of Texas states that tenants who use their deposits as rent when their leases did not state they could do so can face monetary penalties of up to three timesrepparttar 110475 amount of rent they withheld.

According torepparttar 110476 terms ofrepparttar 110477 law, a tenant only has a leg to stand on when he or she withholds rent under three conditions: ifrepparttar 110478 tenant first received a court order allowing him or her to withhold rent ifrepparttar 110479 landlord didn't perform agreed-upon repairs or meet various conditions; ifrepparttar 110480 tenant made repairs in his or her own unit and paid for them out of pocket, ifrepparttar 110481 landlord was aware of and approved those repairs andrepparttar 110482 lease clearly stated that deductions in rent could be made under those circumstances; and if you have legally terminated your lease because your landlord or apartment management company brokerepparttar 110483 terms of your written lease agreement with respect to his or her responsibility for repairs, or if your utilities have been cut off unlawfully. The moral ofrepparttar 110484 story? Tread lightly.

All of these warnings aren't to portrayrepparttar 110485 image of landlords and apartment management companies as scheming individuals. The situation is quiterepparttar 110486 contrary in today's rental climate, major apartment leasing companies have grown and prospered aroundrepparttar 110487 country. The renters' market is extremely competitive, and such companies vie for prospective tenants withrepparttar 110488 promise of good amenities and good service. Sometimes these hassles simply amount to misunderstanding and miscommunication. Your best bet is to shop around, find a landlord or company-run complex with which you feel comfortable, to ask plenty of questions, read everything twice, and get every promise in writing. Don't be afraid of seeming nit-picky. If they want your business, they'll comply -- with a smile. Happy hunting.

Since 1989 dan the roommate man has helped 1000's of people find roommates. Need help? Contact him at 800-487-8050 or www.roommateexpress.com


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