What to look for in a good tenant

[Rosaria Pipitone]

I’m really excited to rent the upstairs apartment to my new duplex. I just posted my rental on Zillow and have several viewings scheduled. Anyone have advise or tips on how to further screen tenants prior to the viewings? Is it appropriate to ask if the tenant has had any prior evictions before the viewing?

[Alex Craig]

@Rosaria Pipitone Yes, you can certainly ask if a tenant has been evicted, but understand they will lie to you.  Anything an applicant tells you, as Ronald Reagan said when talking about the Soviet's, "trust but verifying."  On each phone call, ask these questions.

"Do you know your credit score?", if they say yes, ask them what it is or ask them if they know approximately what it is. Get them to answer it. Do this instead of asking them a yes or no type answer question such as "is your credit score above a 620?"  That gives them an easier opportunity to lie.

"Why are you moving?"  You would be surprised what they say.  I have had tenants tell me they are suing their landlord, not paying rent because their landlord will not fix anything, can't get along with landlord, etc.  Those types of answers are red flag.  This should be a simple one sentence answer, not a long drawn out answer.

"When are you looking to move?"  ASAP is a red flag for you to probe more.  I have see way to many times someone needing to move ASAP because they are getting evicted. 

"How long have you been at your current job?"  If a short time, ask them how long they were at their old job, if it was a short time too, then you would want to probe as to why they keep job hopping.  Again, anything but a once sentence answer here is a red flag.

"How much is your take home?"  Ask this rather then, "do you make X amount over the rent?" Again, let them give you answers instead of opportunities to lie.  You can require they make a certain amount to qualify.  Most PM's in my industry require 3x the rent, but I require 4x.....I do not think 3x is nearly enough.

"Are you current on your utility bill and can you provide the most recent bill?"  This one may not be a deal killer, but if they are not current on their utility bill....red flag! They may be a flat tire away from not being able to meet their bill obligations. 

"Are you ok with pulling a criminal background check?"  Some people, even if they are not a convicted criminal seem to get their undies in a wad if you ask them if they have been convicted of a felony.  Rarely is it a simple, "No, I am not", rather it is an emphatic "NO!"

There are probably good credit and background check services recommended here on Bigger Pockets, but beware most may lag a week or longer with updated info. In Memphis, there are publications that publish online public information that we utilize in addition to what our PM software offers that are more real time, especially with eviction filings. Most cities have something like this. Same thing with bankruptcy filings.  The background software may lag a little behind, thus we utilize the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) that we can call to see if a bankruptcy has been filed.

If they answer No or do not qualify to your underwriting standards, it is ok to let the tenant know they do not pre-qualify, thus you would not need to show them your house. Also, unless you just have a lot of time on your hands, I would not show anyone your unit without pre-qualification over the phone.

Hope this helps and sorry about grammatical errors, I typed this up real quick in the midst of the chaos of the night time routine of 3 kids going to bed!