How to Safeguard Your Property Against Tenants From Hell

Your tenants seemed like perfectly pleasant, reasonable people when you met with them – their credit was passable, the children seemed well-behaved, and there were no pets in sight. Unfortunately, now it’s months later, your tenants are nowhere to be found, and they’ve left behind a sea of discarded possessions, broken appliances, damaged walls, and what happened to the carpet could only have been perpetrated by several very large animals. In fact, there’s very little your tenants didn’t leave behind – aside from the previous two months’ rent.

How Can You Avoid the Tenants From Hell?

Nearly every Las Vegas area landlord has at least one horror story to share about their own run-in with what seem to be the tenants from hell. Fortunately, most also have insider tips and lessons learned to share regarding how to avoid them. Here, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most useful.

• Utilize a tenant application. You can’t begin to determine a prospective tenant’s fitness to rent without asking the right questions. Asking for personally identifying information is key, but you’ll also want to request references, previous landlords, and proof of income. In addition, ask about important factors like pets, children, smoking, and criminal history.
• Screen your tenants. Once you receive an application, run credit checks, background checks, research the information provided on the application, and take the time to contact each and every one of their references and previous landlords; it’s the best way to learn all you can about how they treat a property, directly from the source
• Build high expectations. You’ll want to require a verifiable income of at least three times the monthly rent to ensure your tenants can continue to pay rent. If you want to avoid pets, smokers, or other factors, say so and stick to your decision.
• Hire a property manager. A property manager will act as an essential link between you and your property. Your property manager will collect rent, ensure maintenance, give attention to problems as soon as they crop up, and enforce the details of the rental agreement.
• Procure landlord insurance and rent guarantee. As you’ve discovered, even when tenants seem like decent people, you can still end up with tenants from hell. Landlord insurance can cover the building, contents, accidental damage, and even cover the rent if your tenants stop paying. Property management services like Home365 include many of these accommodations within the OneRate plan.

Avoid paying dearly for damage and missing rent caused by the tenants from hell by following the steps above. For superior property management services and a rent guarantee, turn to Home365. Contact us today for more information, or request a free quote via our online form.