Depending what state, or province you're in, there are often times, too many laws protecting tenants. The province of Ontario in Canada comes to mind. Ontario has some of the slackest laws ever, for renters, and the most stringent for Landlords. Some states and provinces are a deadbeat renters paradise. In this post I am going to concentrate on the province of Ontario because I used to live there, and deal with tenants, and it is a great example, and probably the worst place to be a Landlord.
I have personally known two people that sold their rental properties because of all the garbage they had to put up with, by law, from deadbeat renters. Here is some advice in dealing with these people. They say prevention is the best medicine. Follow these rules and you will eliminate 95% of deadbeats and scammers right off.
1. ALWAYS ask for, and check references, thoroughly. Spend some time talking to each reference and asking questions. Often times, a deadbeat renter will give family and friends names as references because they don't actually have any good ones. If you spend some time talking to, and asking questions, you will be able to tell if it is a genuine reference or not. If it is not a genuine reference, go no further with the prospective renter. I can assure you they will end up being a problem at some point in time. Also keep yourself in such a position that you can leave the rental property vacant for a couple of months if you have to, this way you will not be desperate for a renter and make a mistake. If you cannot do this, you should not be in business in the first place. The rental property business is just that, a business.
2. ALWAYS get the last months rent, or security deposit, depending on your province or state. Never negotiate on this. If the person does not have the money it means they are financially unstable. Never feel sorry for them and give in to a hard luck story. We all have our sad stories to tell, they do not belong in the business world. Keep your personal life personal, do not get involved personally with a renter, this is a business, treat it that way and you will go a long ways to protecting yourself. If you find you cannot do this, you should not be in business.
Sticking to this rule will also weed out the potential deadbeat applicants. If you make it known in your ad for the property that the deposit, or last months rent is mandatory, the deadbeats will apply somewhere else. Some of the bolder ones will try anyway, be ready for them.
3. ALWAYS make a renter fill out some kind of application. By law in some provinces and states you can do a credit check on a renter. If you can, do it, it may save you many headaches down the road for the small fee it will cost you. Also, always get some form of I.D. from your renter so you know they are who they say they are. I don't know how many times I've known Landlords to rent without doing this. If they have an extremely bad credit history, stay away from them, it's a warning of things to come, sooner or later.
4. ALWAYS make a renter sign an agreement stating they are the sole occupants and tenants, that the property is rented to them, not whomever else they decide to move in at a later date. I don't know how many times I've seen this happen to a Landlord.
These are just some basic rules, as examples to stick by. I am sure that if you treat it like a business, and devise a set of rules to do business by, you will be better protected in the long run from scammers and deadbeat renters.
In some provinces and states, you cannot, by law, discriminate against smokers, pet owners, and people who have children. You can however, tell prospective tenants, that someone else has already looked at the apartment or property. This gives you the option to turn them down if you discover, upon showing them the property, that they do smoke, have pets, or children. No one can "prove" why you turned them down, just don't tell them why. It is your property after all, you should be able to rent to whom you choose, even if the law says differently.
Remember this, the law only protects scammers and deadbeat renters once they are your tenant. If you weed them out before they become a tenant, they are not your problem, or protected.
If you find yourself in the position of having to deal with a scammer or deadbeat tenant, here are some things to think about.
The main reason scammers get away with so much is because they do not live by a set of rules or moral codes as most decent people do. It's very hard, if not impossible, to beat someone at a game when you are playing by a set of rules and they are cheating. Remember this, they are not smarter than you, they are cheating, period.
Also, immediately start the process of eviction as soon as problems arise, do not wait for the situation to get better or resolve itself, it won't. Depending on your state or province, there are certain legal steps to follow. You do not have to hire a lawyer or agent, you can do it yourself for far less money. One of the problems with hiring a lawyer or agent is that they are in it to make money, it is in their interest to see the whole process drag out, costing you more in the long run. Do it yourself, it will cost less and be resolved quicker.
Be diligent with filing your applications and staying on top of things. I can guarantee you that the deadbeat won't. They also have certain forms to file to fight your eviction, and deadlines. The scammers and deadbeats are lazy by nature, they will miss a deadline or make a mistake, thereby speeding up the process.
I cannot stress enough, the importance of prevention. Follow a set of rules to weed these people out before they become your problem.
Also, do not buy into the whole "I need a lawyer or agent to do the process for me" attitude. Do it yourself. The legal process will be spelled out on your province or states "Landlord and Tenant laws" website. Don't buy their crap, they can't do it any faster or better than you can do it yourself. In a lot of cases they are as bad as the scammers themselves, only they are legal scammers.
Remember, the scammer/deadbeat is lazy, they will screw up. If you stay sharp you can use their own nature against them.
I have personally known two people that sold their rental properties because of all the garbage they had to put up with, by law, from deadbeat renters. Here is some advice in dealing with these people. They say prevention is the best medicine. Follow these rules and you will eliminate 95% of deadbeats and scammers right off.
1. ALWAYS ask for, and check references, thoroughly. Spend some time talking to each reference and asking questions. Often times, a deadbeat renter will give family and friends names as references because they don't actually have any good ones. If you spend some time talking to, and asking questions, you will be able to tell if it is a genuine reference or not. If it is not a genuine reference, go no further with the prospective renter. I can assure you they will end up being a problem at some point in time. Also keep yourself in such a position that you can leave the rental property vacant for a couple of months if you have to, this way you will not be desperate for a renter and make a mistake. If you cannot do this, you should not be in business in the first place. The rental property business is just that, a business.
2. ALWAYS get the last months rent, or security deposit, depending on your province or state. Never negotiate on this. If the person does not have the money it means they are financially unstable. Never feel sorry for them and give in to a hard luck story. We all have our sad stories to tell, they do not belong in the business world. Keep your personal life personal, do not get involved personally with a renter, this is a business, treat it that way and you will go a long ways to protecting yourself. If you find you cannot do this, you should not be in business.
Sticking to this rule will also weed out the potential deadbeat applicants. If you make it known in your ad for the property that the deposit, or last months rent is mandatory, the deadbeats will apply somewhere else. Some of the bolder ones will try anyway, be ready for them.
3. ALWAYS make a renter fill out some kind of application. By law in some provinces and states you can do a credit check on a renter. If you can, do it, it may save you many headaches down the road for the small fee it will cost you. Also, always get some form of I.D. from your renter so you know they are who they say they are. I don't know how many times I've known Landlords to rent without doing this. If they have an extremely bad credit history, stay away from them, it's a warning of things to come, sooner or later.
4. ALWAYS make a renter sign an agreement stating they are the sole occupants and tenants, that the property is rented to them, not whomever else they decide to move in at a later date. I don't know how many times I've seen this happen to a Landlord.
These are just some basic rules, as examples to stick by. I am sure that if you treat it like a business, and devise a set of rules to do business by, you will be better protected in the long run from scammers and deadbeat renters.
In some provinces and states, you cannot, by law, discriminate against smokers, pet owners, and people who have children. You can however, tell prospective tenants, that someone else has already looked at the apartment or property. This gives you the option to turn them down if you discover, upon showing them the property, that they do smoke, have pets, or children. No one can "prove" why you turned them down, just don't tell them why. It is your property after all, you should be able to rent to whom you choose, even if the law says differently.
Remember this, the law only protects scammers and deadbeat renters once they are your tenant. If you weed them out before they become a tenant, they are not your problem, or protected.
If you find yourself in the position of having to deal with a scammer or deadbeat tenant, here are some things to think about.
The main reason scammers get away with so much is because they do not live by a set of rules or moral codes as most decent people do. It's very hard, if not impossible, to beat someone at a game when you are playing by a set of rules and they are cheating. Remember this, they are not smarter than you, they are cheating, period.
Also, immediately start the process of eviction as soon as problems arise, do not wait for the situation to get better or resolve itself, it won't. Depending on your state or province, there are certain legal steps to follow. You do not have to hire a lawyer or agent, you can do it yourself for far less money. One of the problems with hiring a lawyer or agent is that they are in it to make money, it is in their interest to see the whole process drag out, costing you more in the long run. Do it yourself, it will cost less and be resolved quicker.
Be diligent with filing your applications and staying on top of things. I can guarantee you that the deadbeat won't. They also have certain forms to file to fight your eviction, and deadlines. The scammers and deadbeats are lazy by nature, they will miss a deadline or make a mistake, thereby speeding up the process.
I cannot stress enough, the importance of prevention. Follow a set of rules to weed these people out before they become your problem.
Also, do not buy into the whole "I need a lawyer or agent to do the process for me" attitude. Do it yourself. The legal process will be spelled out on your province or states "Landlord and Tenant laws" website. Don't buy their crap, they can't do it any faster or better than you can do it yourself. In a lot of cases they are as bad as the scammers themselves, only they are legal scammers.
Remember, the scammer/deadbeat is lazy, they will screw up. If you stay sharp you can use their own nature against them.
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