@Gill Winslow
Yes it is all worth it. Keep pushing man. If it was easy.....everyone would do it. A couple of thoughts and questions;
I don't want to know the address, but what zip code are these properties in?
Why are YOU dealing with all this and not a property manager?
Were these tenants that you inherited or did you do the screening yourself?
What sort of lease do you have and what all is in it?
I own 5 units in Cleveland, from out of state and by far the most drama I have dealt with are the inherited tenants.
Cleveland has far more Landlord friendly laws than California where I live so if a tenant is being an "@$$hat" then you need to evaluate if you want them to be a tenant.
When I screen tenants in Cleveland and here in the Bay Area I have a process.....Yes I do have a property manager but I want to be the one who does the initial screening.
Here goes...
I place the ads on Zillow, Facebook, HotPads, Trulia and Craigslist.
THE FIRST SENTENCE IN THE AD SAYS NO PETS AND NO SMOKERS OF ANY KIND.
When they call....I don't pick up....I want them to leave a message....If they are not confident enough to leave a message....I feel they are most likely not confident in themselves regarding renting the property.
I want to hear if they sound like "they have some sense". (Read into that what you want, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it). If I hear dogs barking in the background or if the husband is leaving a message but I hear the mother screaming at her kids while the message is being left I imagine how they will be as tenants and sometimes make a judgement call if I will even call back. Dog barking in the background and my ad says no pets. .....hmmmmm. Speaking of pets,.It is AMAZING how many people will call you that have NOT read the ad. Trulia, Zillow and HotPads sends an email or a link to candidates phones based on the price range they put in. The link headline of the link they are sent literally only says 3/1 unit , The price per month and the contact phone number regarding the property. Yes you can click on the link and READ the ad but most people do not. Trulia is THE MOST NOTORIOUS in that as the property owner you can check the box that says NO PETS.....but when the ad is emailed to the potential tenant about 2/3 of them say "Pet Friendly". I'm not complaining, it is merely an observation.
Before calling the potential tenant back when they call.....although most simply text I will simply text them back and say the following......
"Hi, it's Brian, I understand you are inquiring about the 3/1 unit at 123 Main Street for $$$$ per month with a $$$$ deposit also due before move in, is that correct?"
They reply back confirming this and then I text the following
"When you read the ad, it states, No Smoking of any kind, No Vaping, No E-Cigarettes, No Weed and No Illegal Drugs. The ad also says No Pets of any kind. Also no prior evictions can be on the record of anyone that will be living at the property as well as no felonies. You may have also noticed that the ad says your gross verifiable monthly income per month must be at least 3 times the monthly rent. I know it's a rather long ad, but were you able to read those parts of the ad as well?"
I will say that by doing things this way I end up "talking" to far less people because most did not read the ad and by texting this I am having them acknowledge they are OK with all of this.
If all still goes well up to this point,I then text them
"What is your current living situation and what is your reason for moving?" If it has anything to do with a negative experience about the current landlord it is not necassarily a dealbreaker by the way. When I get on the phone I can dig deeper. If they were renting from a landlord and the property was built in 1893 and/or they were living in a D or F Zip Code and there were constant maintenance problems, I can understand that. If they are coming from a place built in 1993 or it's in a C or B neighborhood and they say the landlord never wants to fix anything, the property manager ignores my calls and doesn't get back to me within a half hour after I call them, then I dig a little deeper....I had a situation like that and I asked him "what do your friends or co-workers say when you tell them about your current living situation". He said, "Well I don't tell my co-workers my business because I don't get along with them"....I RAN from him as a potential tenant because he had high maintenance written all over him.
It all starts with screening the tenants properly Gill.
Keep pushing.
