Nice Tenants can Become Problem Tenants
Missing Signs Not the Landlord’s Fault
Talk to ten landlords and you’ll ten different “worst ever” tenant stories. No matter how hard to you work to avoid it, if you’re a landlord or property manager, you will have your share of problem tenants. The people signing your lease agreement can be the nicest, most polite and clean-cut people ever—and can quickly become the tenants from you-know-where.
How does this happen? The problem is that tenants are humans, just like us. They have the capacity to be good or not-so-good—just like the rest of us. And some are skilled at taking advantage of others’ trust to get what they want.
Our nature is to trust and like people—especially when they fit within our personal filters for looks, behavior, and other external qualities. Cleanliness, smiles, and agreeable personalities can mask a host of soon-to-be revealed trouble spots.
Another aspect ofhuman nature is the tendency to kick ourselves for missing the “signs” of problem tenants. “Why was I so naïve?” or “How could I have not seen this coming?” are questions many landlords and rental property managers ask themselves.
The fact is that folks with emotional issues, money-handling problems and violent personalities have to live somewhere, too. They are often quite skilled at masking their problems long enough to get what they want from others—like renting an apartment or house from you.
Proper tenant screening procedures will weed out potential tenants with criminal histories, credit problems, and evictions. If a tenant passes your background check and still causes problems, remember that it’s not because of any failure on your part.