CHAPTER 5 Red Flags
If you’ve decided to rent out your property, and you’ve become more familiar with the screening process, reading through more rental applications, and conducting more interviews, you’re going to see some red flags. That’s just part of the process. If you see a red flag, your policy might be to just flat-out refuse to rent to that individual (depending on the nature of the red flag). However, you might be interested in digging deeper and doing your research to ensure you’ve got a good-quality tenant moving into your home, and not a “bad apple.” Here’s a list of some red flags to watch out for—red flags that should put you on alert to do more research on the prospective tenant:
SOMEONE WHO WANTS YOUR HELP WITH THE DEPOSIT
For example, let’s say you’re renting out your house for $2,000 a month and you’re asking the same for the deposit. A candidate says, “I don’t have $2,000 for the deposit right now. Can you help me out? Can you give me a break and let me pay $500?” That’s a major red flag. Most experienced landlords will respond, “No, I’m not willing to help you with the deposit.” This type of red flag can also look like somebody “offering” to pay the deposit in monthly installments. “Hey, I understand the deposit is $2,000, but I don’t have $2,000,” they might say. “Can I pay monthly payments of $300 a month for the next six months?” RED FLAG. And someone whom you might want to turn away 32
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