Prospect seemed a bit odd, but wants to pay cash in full up front

[John D.]

A prospect called me the other day inquiring about an apartment I have for rent and I got a strange feeling, but maybe it was just his personality...anyway, he said his boss wants him to move closer to work and wants to pay for his entire lease in cash (or certified check) up front. The reason is because the boss wants to use it as a business expense/tax write-off.

I don't have much rental experience and have never been in this situation, I know that this scenario is a dream since there is no need to worry about rent checks, but again I got a strange vibe. Maybe I'm worrying too much and maybe this sort of arrangement happens often so I figured I'd post it here.

Any advice or anything that I should look out for?

Thanks in advance.

[Michael Otranto]

Paying cash upfront would make anyone difficult to evict if they caused other problems such as illegal activity on the property.  I don't know of any property management companies that will allow a resident to pay an entire lease upfront.

Screening tenants is critical.  Even if you are in a lower income area where no one has good credit you need to see if they any landlord-tenant collections on their credit report.  This is an automatic denial for any large apartment community.  Credit card debt is usually excused.

Hope this helps.