can I use tenant bussiness income as protection if they don't pay

[Yan Yan]

Hi BPers,

I have a potential tenant, no SSN (but has ITIN), credit score 653.I was told that without SSN, NTN background check will not return any useful information, is this true?

He showed me the most recent 3 months' bank statements, with balance much lower than my rent, his explanation is that as a restaurant owner, they use cash a lot and does not use banks often.

Given that I don't have enough information other than my gut feeling, I am thinking is it possible to add a term in the lease, say, if they don't pay the rent on time, I can use their restaurant proceed to pay rent due. Does this term help enforcement if we go to court?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[Bjorn Ahlblad]

@Yan Yan Whatever you discover know that restaurants fail more than any other business. Period.