Do you charge first & last months rent up front?

[Eric Payne]

Hey guys, I'm new to bigger pockets, but not to real estate. Thus far I have had pretty decent tenants, but this is the third time in the past year that I'm getting screwed by someone skipping out on the last month and just ignoring me when I try to get a hold of them. The problem is that 50% of his stuff is still there and so I cant just take it over. If I charged the last months rent up front, most of my units would be over 2 grand to move into...and I'd be eliminating probably 50%-70% of the rental market. Any suggestions or thoughts? Thanks!

[Patrick L.]

I always tell tenants when applying if they're able to provide first, last and security their application will be given preference.

For high income rentals you should be able to find a good pool that can pay the big move in amount. For low income rentals it's going to be slim to nil, when you find someone that has the first month's rent plus a full security deposit up front that's usually as financially stable as they get (renters are usually renting for a reason)