Your Biggest Gaf in Real Estate - share your story

[Alex Russo]

What is your biggest gaf/stupid mistake that you have made in your career so far?

It may include you ending up with egg on your face, missing something extremely obvious, or making a beginners mistake. 

I am sure we all have one, lets hear it!

[Chris Egan]

Not screening tenants! My first rental house I bought about 8 years ago. I saw it thought it was a good buy, bought it cleaned it up and put it up for rent, how hard can this be really?!?!? So this nice young couple comes to look at the house and told me about their hard luck in the past but now they are back on track and they will be the best tenants I ever had. So I think they seem nice enough should be able to pay the rent (I hope). I didn't run a credit check, background check, employment verification, Ok I didn't check anything. So they move in the first month a check comes in the mail on time for the full amount no problem. The next month the 1st rolls around and no check. I wait a few days still no check, a few more days still nothing. So I'm not quite sure what I am supposed to do now so I figure I'll call. Both numbers are disconnected. Hum, well I suppose I will stop by. So I go to the house in the afternoon. There are 3 cars parked out front and one in the back alley. I park next to the car in the back alley where there are two people in the car. I rolled down my window and asked if they were visiting Mike the tenant. She says to me who's Mike? I told her that Mike is the tenant that lives here then she says no my son lives here and his name is not Mike. Then she rolls up the window and drives off. So I am thinking this does not look good. I go up to the door and knock. A girl opens and says who are you? I tell her that I am the property owner and ask who she is. She then tells me that she is a friends with Mike and that he rented the house to her a few days earlier before he went to jail. So I go in the house with her. She tells me her boyfriend, his brother and their other two friends that are a couple are living there along with the 2 pit bulls, 3 snakes, and a cage full of hamsters All in my 2 bedroom, 1 bath 800 square foot home. I talked to an attorney the next day and he advised me to get them out asap, and they did move within a few days. Needless to say my tenant screening is much stronger today.