One of the first presentations I heard when I started going to MIG over 15 years ago was by Don Beck. In it, he had a set of laws for landlords. One of those laws was “no matter what the question, your tenant will have an answer.” Some of these answers are true, some are not. Many are attempts to deflect or redirect.
Some questions always seem to bring out the bring out interesting answers from tenants, especially prospective tenants. These are questions however that you must always ask. What are these questions? Here are 5 questions to always ask your tenants.
What about this gap in your residential living arrangements?
When a prospective tenant does not show a continuous line of residency, you must ask this question. When here is a gap, often of a year or more, that is unexplained you need to find out why. Where was the applicant living during this time? Why have the chosen not to tell you about that gap?
This residential gap could be completely innocent and explainable. The applicant may have had to move back home to care for a sick relative or they could have moved in with someone and the relationship turned sour. These are items your applicant might not think matters or they are embarrassed to admit.
On the other hand, they may have been evicted. Or, they may not be able to get a good reference from that landlord and hoped you would not notice the gap. Either way you need to explore the reasons for the gap.
What about this gap in your work history?
This is another common question that has to be asked. Again, the answer could be something completely innocent. It include such things as simply taking time off, going back to school or caring for that sick relative. Or they could be trying to hide the fact that they were fired for theft. You will never know until you ask.
What about this account in collections?
Finding tenants who will pay, stay and respect our properties is the name of the game. That is why you have to ask these questions. Yes, the account may be old and they may have been embarrassed to put such things on your application. Few of us are ever perfect. But, as landlords we simply have to dig deeper to find out what is really going on. Was this a past mistake or is there a pattern that continues to the present?
Who will be living with you?
This is a question that needs to be asked so you can document the answer. Make sure you make a note when your prospective tenant answers “no one.” or “just my daughter.” On more than one occasion we have found evidence that someone other than what we were told by the tenant has moved in with them.
Do you have any pets?
Some folks will be honest with this question, others will not. We love pets and allow cats and smaller dogs, but many will try to get around the pet fees. Thing is, we always tend to find out because we will be going in the property at some point (often for maintenance) and the evidence will be there. Again, it is best to have things documented from the very beginning.
Not everyone that you meet and applies to live in one of your properties is going to lie, but enough do that we have to ask these questions. Landlords often have to do some detective work to flush out the lies and the potentially bad tenants before they move in. And while tenants may always have an answer, sometimes it will be pretty easy to see through them.
Have a question you always ask your tenants? Ever get an interesting answer? Please share with a comment below.
Kevin Perk is the founder and publisher of Smarterlandlording.com. He is the author of Advice From Experience To New Real Estate Investors. Subscribe to Smarterlandlording here. Contact Kevin here.
