Your first thoughts when reading the title of this article might have been positive. You might have thought that a professional tenant would be something landlords strive for. They are not. A professional tenant is someone that I hope you never come into contact with.
What Is A Professional Tenant?
A professional tenant is a landlord’s worst nightmare. They are people who prey on unsuspecting landlords and suck the life out of them. Professional tenants do this with a slick presentation and smooth talking. They know all of the right words to say and exactly what you want to hear. They know exactly how to act and have an answer for every question.
Being polite is part of the scam. So is dressing well and showing up to appointments on time. Their goal is to dupe you into thinking that you have just found the best tenant ever, when nothing could be further from the truth.
The smooth talking and slick presentation is often followed by cash in hand. They hold the deposit and first month’s rent and have it in their hand, ready to give it to you. No need for you to do anything further. Why wait? It can all be pretty tempting. Little do you know that the money they have in hand is likely owed to their current landlord.
Professional tenants will say and do anything and everything to gain entry to your property. They hope that you will let your guard down. They want you to let them move in and take possession. But they have no intent of ever paying you another dime. Once they are in, you may never hear from them again.
Professional tenants also know how the system works. They know it takes time to file an eviction and work through the process, because they have been there before. They also know all of the tricks they can try to delay that eviction; from continuances to bankruptcy filings. They know that they will eventually get kicked out in six months or a year (or more in some states), but that was their plan all along. They wanted to pay you to move in, skip the rest and then leave in the middle of the night to prey on another unsuspecting landlord.
Appearances Are Deceiving
Every professional tenant I have run across, and I have run across a few, looks and plays the part well. On the surface, you really cannot tell they are trying to deceive you. They are skilled actors. Their one tell is perhaps their effort to make you feel that they have to move today, that the “good deal” they are offering you will be gone if you do not act. This is their intent, they want you to act quickly and let down your defenses.
Defending Against The Professional Tenant
Your first defense is how you advertise. Professional tenants look for small “mom and pop” operations. They know the big property managers are not going to fall for their ruse. Generic “For Rent” signs are often a major calling sign for the professional tenant. No company policy there they believe. Professional looking signage with a company name and logo are a great first line of defense. Professional tenants want to avoid professional landlords.
The next best defense is to not be tempted by the cash in hand and the deal that will supposedly get away. Always tell every potential tenant that you require an application and a background check. That will scare most of them off.
But it will not scare all of them away. Some will go through your application process, hoping you are just going to pocket the fee and forgo the actual background check. Never do this, do the background check! Because like I said, sometimes you just cannot ever really tell and they work hard to deceive you.
He Spoke Well
As landlords, we have to be aware that there are professional tenants out there looking to scam us. Protect yourself on the front end and never forgo your application process and background check. I once had what I thought was going to be the perfect tenant. He spoke well and dressed well. He was ready to move in. When I checked however, everyone including the phone company was looking for him. He had not paid a single bill in months as far as I could tell.
I feel sorry for the sucker that eventually rented to him. But, I am sure glad it was not me.
Do you have a professional tenant story? Share it with your comments.
Kevin Perk is the founder and publisher of Smarterlandlording.com. He is the author of Advice From Experience To New Real Estate Investors. Contact Kevin here.
Thanks for the article Kevin.
When I was new to the game, I had a professional tenant working for a powerful federal government department (even scare to say the name). She used all the tactics to delay the payments eventually got evicted in the court but motioned that it is a wrongful eviction. The judge said I would like to hear it and we got a new hearing date. So she enjoyed an other 45 days without paying. On the day of the hearing she handed the keys to my attorney and walked away. Please do not skip the background and eviction check.
Kay,
A good story to share to help spread the message.
Thanks for doing so,
Kevin