showing? A late-showing tenant is a red flag. Let’s imagine that you’re someone who’s on time everywhere you go, and you think punctuality is an important indicator of whether someone is a responsible person. You agree to meet with a tenant at 2:00 p.m., but they show up at 2:15; will you rent your house to a tenant who was 15 minutes late? If you decide not to rent to the tenant because of that issue, make sure you are within the guidelines of the FHA. Check with your attorney to see what the requirements are. • Will you accept someone who’s breaking a current lease or has been evicted? This is an area that some would-be landlords fail to consider in their minimum qualification standards. Consider whether a potential tenant is breaking a lease with their current landlord — what’s going to protect you if they decide to do the same thing to you at some point? Check with your attorney to see what the requirements are. For most landlords, an eviction is a major red flag, and they’ll absolutely refuse to rent their house to somebody who’s had one because it’s an indicator of a much bigger problem, such as rent payment issues or property damage. However, other landlords are willing to overlook an eviction from farther back in the past. What will your rules be? • Will you accept people with a criminal background? It’s perfectly acceptable and common for landlords to deny tenancy requests for individuals with criminal backgrounds. It’s a potentially messy situation they’d prefer to avoid. However, it’s still something you need to think about it. If you’re open to accepting those with a
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