More tenants in my house than on the lease

[Nick Ferguson]

Hey guys,

I have a house that I'm land-lording from afar (about a 5 hour drive).  It is a large house, near a college with flexible accommodations for up to 5.  My pricing structure is that I charge more for rent for each extra person in the house but they also save money per person with each person in the house.  I charge 900/month for 3 people, 1000/month for 4, and 1150/month for 5.  

Unfortunately, this is a small town with no real options for property management (although I'm looking into grooming someone to do a partial management situation).  The house is a good performing financially and my ultimate goals are to keep the money flowing and not have my property destroyed by college kids.  

There are currently 4 people on the lease resulting in a total of $1,000/month.  However, when the money is deposited directly into my bank, it has been with separate deposits of $200 or $400 dollars so I'm pretty sure there is an extra person who is living there.  

How would you guys handle this situation? On the one hand, the rent has been coming in, I don't want to jeopardize that, and I am too far away to realistically "swing by" or something to check.  On the other hand, there is more wear and tear on the house with an extra person, I'm missing out on potential money revenue, and I'm not sure what additional liability this places on me? 

Thanks, 

Nick