Renter paying new lease

[Nick Bossert]

Hello.  I'm about to rent my house to a tenant, and I'm wondering if there's anything specific I should do to help ensure the tenant pays in full on time.  We've run credit checks and things look ok, but any recommendations on other contractual things to help protect myself?

[Nick Bossert]

Thanks everyone for the advice!  I should note that I already had a tenant renting my home.  They are moving out, so I just wanted to check in on these topics.  The reason my current tenant is moving, is she has gone through a divorce making it difficult to hold the remaining year on the lease.  So I made a deal for early termination.  Fortunately, we have a good relationship and no issues have come from this.  However, not all cases will be like this, and I want to protect myself as much as possible from non-payment.

I understand the point on checking a tenant's financials, which we have.  But even if they are liquid, it doesn't mean they won't not pay on time, have financial issues throughout the next year (COVID??), or something else.  Heck, my current tenant couldn't have predicted a divorce (...I don't think ;-)). 

I did hire a management company for my first tenant, but got rid of him after 5-6 months.  It just wasn't worth the 7-8% or so he was charging, and I was handling most of the issues.  Also, I have lawn and pool care services I hire, already included in the lease.  It works quite well.

I will check the screen the tenant .com recommendation.  For $50, it's a not brainer for some additional information.  However, I do already have credit reports, bank account balances, criminal history, etc.  Late fees, maintenance processes, etc are already part of the lease.