Probably the number-one problem in landlord-tenant cases is a problem tenant. Usually, the problems begin with tenants who are either late with their rental payments or stop paying rent after the first few months of the rental relationship. Other times, tenants may move in problematic “guests,” which leads to complaints from neighbors.
A majority of problems landlords face could have been prevented by proper screening of tenants before renting out the rental unit. However, for landlords, screening can be time-consuming, tedious work. Good screening goes beyond merely looking at a credit report and reviewing pay stubs. You need to ask the right questions, pay attention to details, and follow up with information provided. That is why many landlords avoid this part of the rental process and rent to the first person that seems to have all the right qualifications and has everything in order. I can tell you from experience that being in a rush to rent a property is probably the number-one reason you will end up at my office for an eviction.
Many landlords do not have the time or the experience to perform the required work to screen tenants well. So I always recommend that landlords who do not want to do the footwork to screen their tenants should hire a property manager to do it for them. Many landlords object to the cost of hiring a good property management company, which will take the first month’s rent as commission for finding the tenant. But letting your property manager take your first month’s rent is cheap compared to having a bad tenant in your property. If a tenant stops paying rent after he or she takes possession of a property, you will usually lose 2–3 months rent by going through the eviction process just in lost opportunity costs of renting the property to a good tenant. When you factor in the costs of the eviction, such as attorney’s fees and filing fees, you could lose an additional month’s rent. Pay the property manager to screen your tenants for you if you will not take the time to do it yourself.
