Although the majority of tenants are pleasant, reliable and pay their rents on time, a small minority are not, and it is these tenants from Hell landlords need to learn how to avoid where possible.
Tenants from Hell
No landlord wants to let a property to someone who never pays the rent, but unfortunately, non-payment of the rent is the least of your problems if you end up with the tenant from Hell. This person will probably cause huge damage as well as paying no rent. And in the worst cases, they might even sub-let your property to a load of illegal immigrants, steal your identity and take out loans on the property in your name, or set up a drugs factory inside.
How to avoid the tenant from Hell
Check every piece of information given to you, including employer references, references from previous landlords, and credit history.
Research their employer online and make sure they even exist, and then ring the employer and ask questions to verify information you have been given.
Check out a potential tenant on social networking sites. You can see what kind of person they are from the kind of content they post online. And if they are employed, check them out on Linked-in.
How do bad tenants fool landlords?
Tenants with a dubious history will sometimes enlist a friend or relative to act as a former landlord or employer. To weed out this kind of deception, you may need to cross check facts and information. If anything seems remotely awry, listen to your gut instincts and investigate further.
