All Forum Posts by: Sean McKee

It depends on what you mean by uncooperative. If it’s simply because they don’t want to be inconvenienced, then I’ll show them the clause in lease that allows showings during reasonable hours of the day and with enough advanced notice. If they are particularly animated or kind of dirty, I’ll give them 25 dollars automatically and 75 more if I rent it. This seems to work to ensure they are more cooperative and cleaner. Bottom line is I’ll be respectful, but I’m showing the unit. Hopefully you have this provision in your lease.

Unfortunately if they are the other kind of uncooperative(constantly late, major lease violations, or filthy beyond belief), you probably are best letting it sit vacant. They are likely a high risk of holding over or scaring prospective tenants away. I’ve unfortunately had all these issues and one person actually holdover. It’s better not to have them in the picture while trying to lease.


Vacancy is too expensive to not try and reasonably rent the place, unless of course the unit needs major work. There’s always the risk of something going wrong, but if the tenant was at least decent, they likely aren’t going to want to risk an eviction on their record. 

Good luck!

I don’t know the specifics of the deal. But I bought a property with a similar situation. Owner was in the process of evicting a tenant. I was able to view all the units except the one being evicted. The sellers attorney said that we would not get access either.

What I did was assumed the worse in terms of condition. I also had a contingency for price reduction of the estimated time to evict. Fortunately the tenant abandoned the property before closing, so it was not necessary. Of course my worse wasn’t quite enough,the unit was a little more beat up then I imagined(feces, mold everywhere, drawing on wall, etc). It still worked out, but I wish I had allowed for a little more for damages.

It’s definitely a risk, especially with COVID delays to the eviction process. But if you can get a low enough price, you might be able to compensate for the risk. Just be prepared for complete remodel.

Hi Robert,

I have rentals in C class areas and get similar types of tenant applications. I would not accept him.

Verifiable landlord references are key. I don’t count relatives or friends. Their references aren’t reliable in my opinion. Good references show that even with bad credit they can still manage to be decent tenants.

 Credit score isn’t the most important thing I look at, but it definitely should not be completely overlooked. In terms of scores I advertise 600 as the minimum needed to avoid an additional deposit, with 550 being the minimum acceptable (I’ll go as low as 500 if they are strong in other areas). Which creditors they are shorting also matters to me.Missed credit card payments or collections are less serious than car or utility payment issues. If I see car payment delinquencies or collections for utilities, I usually automatically reject. Those are essential items and are serious red flagS

I’d reject and wait for someone better.

I would not do it all yourself unless you have only a couple units, even then it would probably reduce your stress levels.

For searching use Zillow, Turbotenant and for rent signs. Unfortunately Zillow started charging I think 10 a week if your in certain markets. 

For screening I usually use Transunion. Sometimes I get tenants that don’t use email and use Rentprep.


For rent tracking and other accounting items I use LandlordStudio. It’s really easy to use .  

I use virtual assistants for most tenants interactions and maintenance scheduling and pretty much any other item I don’t want to do.

There have been a lot good information put by other people regarding your current situation and getting tenants.

I would recommend reading Brian Chavis’ book – “Buy It, Rent It, Profit!”. He has concept called SEOTA(Strategic Evaluation of Target Area ). It’s basically an easy way to organize information to determine demographics and what types of rentals to purchase. This might help you out in the future so you have an easier time attracting tenants and maximizing income. 

Good Luck!

Hi there Francis,

600 seems high unless they had to do a lot of hauling stuff away. 200 to 300 is about what I’d expect.

Now because of covid some places might be increasing the amount. I had a case on a 4 unit building, and paid 700 to disinfect it. I got quotes from 500 to 800. I still think what I paid was high, but wanted to cover myself in terms of liability. So maybe that’s why.

I definitely feel your pain. I’ve had this issue before, only they wouldn’t allow me into the unit. I pointed to the line on the lease that allows me access to unit with 24 hours notice. I gave them written notice of when I’d be entering and then entered the unit accordingly. If your lease is worded correctly, it can give you all the authority you need.

Obviously the current health crisis makes your situation a little more complicated. However in most places real estate and the rental market is considered an essential service. Furthermore you have multiple units on one lot. So he has no right to prevent access. Give him WRITTEN notice of when construction will occur and then let your contractors on.

If it makes you more comfortable consult with a lawyer so you know your access rights.

Good Luck!

I’m in an area that was heavily impacted in terms of employment. My rentals are in a  Class C Area and a lot of my tenants work in the service industry or industries that were shut down.All but one of my tenants has either been laid off or had their hours cut. Amazingly rent collections have been better than I thought given the situation. I’ve collected about 80% of what I’m owed for April and May. Not sure what June will be like though.

Thanks Kenneth.

So are you just opting to forgo criminal checks entirely? I thought we could check up to 3 years prior?

Hello Everyone!


This discussion is really geared towards Cook County investors, but any advice is welcomed.

Cook County recently passed The Just Housing Ordinance. This question is only focused on the screening process and not all the other requirements that came with the law.  Under the new ordinance, landlords can no longer inquire about criminal records at the beginning of screening process. Instead we have to first screen all other criteria first(income, employment, housing history, credit scores, etc.) Only after we have approved them based all other criteria, can we run the criminal background check.

The problem arising from this, is that many of the tenant screening services do everything at once, and usually include criminal background checks. This is now no longer allowed. I was a big fan of Transunion SmartMove. This was incredibly efficient and allowed me access to the tenants full credit report, eviction history, and of course criminal record. So naturally I’m very disappointed not to be able too use this anymore.

I am curious as to what services everyone will be using to still adequately screen tenants without adding a lot of time and cost to the process?  I would hate to charge more for applications.

Thanks!