There are a lot of skills associated with being a landlord that only come with time and experience. Knowing how to “read between the lines” of a prospective tenant’s responses to rental application questions is one of those skills. After you’ve been in the game for a while, you start to recognize patterns in behaviors… Read more »
Best Practices for Screening Tenants
We all know that one of the best ways to protect your investment is to carefully screen tenants before choosing who you’ll rent your property to. Trouble is, not every landlord or property manager knows how to do this effectively. Asking for a credit report is easy enough, but what exactly should you look for… Read more »
Can Landlords Require Credit Reports?
There are many regulations that landlords must abide by, such as not discriminating by race, gender, or disability. Because many of these stipulations are required by law, it makes sense that some might wonder if it’s legal or ethical to require credit reports or specific credit scores from prospective tenants. This is an excellent question… Read more »
What is a Good Credit Score?
The way we judge what makes a good credit score is starting to change, especially with VantageScore becoming more popular, so it’s important to understand that the credit reports you receive from tenants might contain different information than you’re used to. First, you must check the report to determine of the three-digit number was determined… Read more »
Credit Check: Deciphering FICO vs Vantage Scores
As a landlord and business owner, you’ve likely become intimately acquainted with credit checks, credit scores and credit bureaus. That means you’re probably aware that the bureaus designed and released their own proprietary scoring model called the Vantage Score. While most lenders and property owners are still using FICO scores to determine an individual’s credit,… Read more »
Housing Bubbles and the National Vacancy Rate
As we’re sure you’ve noticed, we’re currently going through a confusing period for housing, the economy, and business in general. Many economists are predicting that housing bubbles will burst in the near future, which means we may see homes lose value. More importantly for renters and landlords, however, is the National Vacancy Rate and what… Read more »
Why You Should Screen All a Unit’s Occupants
When you’re selecting tenants to occupy your rental units, it’s a given that you want to make sure you’re finding the best match for your property. That’s why many landlords choose to do extensive tenant screening for background checks, credit scores, eviction history, criminal history, and more. It’s important to know who’s going to be… Read more »
What to Expect From Millennials When Renting Your Property
At this point, it’s no secret: millennials are becoming the “Renter Generation.” More and more people born in the 80s and 90s are choosing to rent rather than purchase a home, often because home prices are so astronomically expensive, but also because renting better suits their lifestyle and needs. This means you have a ready… Read more »
What Constitutes a Service Dog?
As a landlord, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that you might receive an application from a renter who uses a service dog. Legally, it’s important for you to understand what a service dog is, what it does, and how it affects you under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Fair Housing… Read more »
Why It’s Important to Check Tenant ID
There are a number of tips that seem like a given when you’re in the landlord game: find tenants who will pay rent regularly and maintain your property, have an emergency repairman’s number available at all times, and make sure to check an applicant’s ID. Surprisingly, many of these things are easier said than done…. Read more »