Another Deadbeat Renter Bites the Dust

Dealing with deadbeat renters can be a royal pain. I guess it's the price you pay for being a landlord. We finally had our latest renter move out and we were lucky enough to turn around and find a new renter right away. I am hoping that a third time's a charm as this is the third renter we've had in this property and I am expecting there to be no problems. But I guess I thought that with previous two renters.

I don't really like the term "deadbeat" simply because sometimes I feel that we're no different. We have been behind on our payments, but the real difference between us and someone like our renters is we have constantly communicated with our creditors and we have gotten back on track with the help of loan modifications and balance liquidation programs.

Things have been worse this last time prperty damage wise, but the house was such a mess it makes me sick. The carpet was filthy, the were holes in the walls, and the master bedroom door had a hole punched through it. So what can you do to help prevent situations like this from happening again?

Here is some advice for landlords to help prevent headaches from deadbeat renters:

Check references and credit thoroughly. Most renters will list friends and family members as references because they don't have anyone else that would give them a good reference. A friend of mine, who owns investment properties, contacts the renters previous landlord to get a reference.
Hopefully, you have time to screen your renters properly. If you're desperate to get someone in the home because the mortgage is due, you might be tempted to rent to just anyone, but this will only lead to problems later on.
Have them complete an application and run a credit check. If their credit is bad chances are they're going to have problems paying their rent as well.

So what do you do when you have to kick out your renter? Here are some tips for handling evictions when dealing with deadbeat rental property tenants:

Before proceeding with the eviction try meeting with the tenant to work something out. This can prevent an already bad situation become a worse one.
Research the rules of your state. Mistakes can be made that can cause you to lose your case.
Follow the grace period stated in your lease. You cannot start the eviction process until the grace period has lapsed.
Never evict a tenant because you are mad at them.
Avoid confrontations with your renter. Things can escalate and give the tenant some ammunition against you.
Weigh the costs between winning and losing. Coming to a compromise might help prevent you losing more money than you already have.

Dealing with deadbeat renters can cause lots of headaches and inconvenience, but working through the rough spots is worth it in the long run. Remember: real estate is a great investment over time.

[This post is written and copyrighted by Financial Elite (http://financialelite.blogspot.com/ ).]

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