New Tenant who would pay one yr rent up front

[Johan Yang]

Hello fellow BP,

I recently just closed on two properties in Orlando. One of my new properties is on the market for rent. My Real Estate agent has met with a prospective new tenant who is willing to pay one year rent upfront. This prospective new tenant is an ex-military (still young, in mid forties), married with a kid. He told my agent he has a ptsd syndrome and currently isn’t working. I think he said to my agent he gets medical allowance money from the military or something like that. My agent hasn’t run his background check yet. 

I would like some opinion what I should know about accepting the whole year rent money up front. Do I need a special lease agreement or add a special paragraph on the standard lease (what do I need to write), etc.

Has anyone been in the similar situation like this? 

Would it be very risky to have a ptsd tenant?

As always I greatly appreciate any inputs.

Best,

Johan

[Dominik Makaneole]

Well He seems honest. Not too many veterans go around saying they have PTSD on a rental application. I'm sure if you have any concerns he would be upfront with you. Also, just because he has PTSD dosn't mean he is violent. He may have difficulty working but if thats the case the Veterans Affairs will give him compensation for that. If he is in his 40's that is retirement age for the military and might be getting a retirement and a VA compensation which will probably give him access to social security. I would still run a background check on him. I dont think you have to do anything special to accept a 1 yr lease. I just wanted to chime in because I'm a veteran as well and sometimes we get a bad rap. Dont let the PTSD thing scare you off. You do want to make sure he's not violent though.