Newton story got me scared: Thoughts on Tenants

[Charley F.]

I just read the story about the Newton's, very scary.... I know is too late for this but I would like to hear your thoughts about my tenant. The purpose is to acquire and eye based on your experience, it will help me in my next move.

My tenant is a lady nurse who moved from Virginia to live close to her mother who lives in Florida. With there are two other family members, her 15 year old daughter and her 87 grandfather who is on pension and a dog Beagel. She is a full time nurse to her grandfather. She receives payments to take care of him, but he also receives Pension from the United States Postal Service and Social Security. She had a previous issue with a past landlord (She was upfront) but that matter was resolved and any due payment was paid. She presented us (PM and I) with bank statements where it shows the payment they get from government and it also shows a savings, around $40K.

She at first requested a 2 year lease which we told he we will consider after the screen, but then she changed her mind to 1 year lease as she will consider buying if they like Florida.

The PM told me that during these times where the economy is bad and many people have credit problems, there will be issues finding "the perfect tenant". The PM recommended we accept them as tenant. And so we did.

They paid the last month rent, security deposit, and a non refundable pet fee.

I can come up with a few things that are close to "red flags" but I am not sure if I am nitpicking or simply being a newbie.

Anything that I can learn from this?

[Jim Stardust]

I'm not going to debate the need of a PM and their advice, but I agree with George, that this should be solely your decision and whether the tenant met your pre-set criteria.

Now, did you verify the income and the savings with the bank? Does she have a credit score in the 600's or higher? What was the issue with the previous tenant? Where did she work before becoming a full-time nurse to her grandfather? Reason I'm asking is if the grandfather is getting up there in years and if he passes, will she have the ability to land another job (it should be easy for a nurse, in Florida nonetheless, but you never know). If there are issues with the license, she might not be able to do so. Have you done a criminal/background check? I have heard of nurses who became drug-abusers and have their licenses suspended and then resorted to providing healthcare through venues that would not require a license, I'm not saying that's the case here, but you should be aware that the problem exists. What are the potential "red flags" you suspect?

I agree that there's no such thing as a perfect tenant, and if all checks out, it sounds like you should have a good tenant here (I assume you accept pets?). I would still contact the previous landlord and see if the issue was really resolved to his/her satisfaction or whether there were other problems. You deserve to nitpick, it's your property and your investment, actually that's a very good sign that you may be successful going forward.