Checking Rental History...

[Carlos Quiros]

New investor question here....

When looking at a property with tenants in there already is it common place to contact the property management company and ask if they pay on time or is there another method to finding out if you're about to invest in a headache or not.

[Dave Kush]

Hi Carlos!

I have never bought a property that's already rented and managed, but it would seem to me that any good property manager, for their own sake if nothing else, would have detailed records on tenants payment histories. I would not be at all bashful about asking for that info! 

That said, as a prospective buyer they probably will not share anything very detailed, and maybe nothing at all.  

if you have a good rapport with the person, sometimes asking for what they can share with you "off the record" will yield more information. I think what's more likely though is that if you get under contract you can get more of that information. And, probably best to just plan a little reserve if possible for dealing with issues that may arise based on the quality of the current tenants.