Giving tenants with a prior eviction a chance

I do my own property management for my rentals. As such, I have control over who I let live in my properties. I have the showings, I take phone calls, I answer emails, and I talk to people in person.

One consideration that has come up a couple times in the past is whether or not to rent to someone who has had an eviction in the past.

My general rule of thumb is "no". If they did something to get evicted in the past (e.g. not pay rent) who is to say that they aren't going to do this to me?

However, I have made an exception in the past.

A single mom who lived in the Milwaukee area only for a couple years and had an eviction from 10 years ago when she was "young and stupid" (her words). Her goal is to purchase her own home in about 3 years. She's also been a great tenant, takes care of the house (planted flowers in the front yard this past summer for example) and pays her rent either on time or early.

So, not all people who had an eviction are bad tenants. Sometimes people do stupid things that they later regret. But keep in mind that there are limits. If I see someone who has multiple evictions, for example, they are going to be automatically disqualified. Applicants like that who show a repeated disrespect for their landlords are not living in my rental.