Then once they are gone, fog under the house for spiders, and put out bait blocks for the mice (You can't put out any other poisons while you are using Combat Gel)Flea foggers with pre-cor will get rid of fleas.Fix the window screens and sticky fly strips for the flies.

The best you can do is pre-screen sellers for those costs that are going reduce success rates.

This is even true of other government employees such as immigration officers at airports, security people at the airport screening places, etc.

My screening is second to none and I do not place a tenant without in depth discussion with the landlord prior to accepting a tenant.

The know how to effectively screen them, since they deal with this clientele all the time.

Might I be better off simply hiring a company to screen tenants and 'hire' friends/family to keep an eye on the place.

I hope you screened him well.

Greg,If you do the property management (advertising, interviewing and screening tenants, evictions) and maintenance yourself, you can earn back a chunk of those expenses.

Remember that part of your success comes from people knowing they can trust you, that you do what you say and that you operate in a way that will not attract unnecessary legal or regulatory action.Too much reading between the lines leads people to think that there is a snake in the grass so they will not trust you.Find a good agent that can run automated reports.

If the tenant does not meet your standards based on your screening requirements consider not renewing them.