you accepted their money.
It becomes much more difficult to not only file an eviction, but also to collect unpaid rent or get reimbursed for property damage that the new “tenant” claims isn’t their problem and the original tenant claims never happened when they lived there. So how do you prove it was one tenant and not the other? You can’t! It turns into a “their word against their word against your word” situation, and in most cases, you’ll end up losing out on collecting any money to fix the damages done to your property. Because of the unsigned lease, your entire legal arrangement is on shaky ground and the whole situation can easily become a nightmare. Another scenario that can happen with rental roommates is one moving out and letting another, whom you haven’t screened, move in, and it turns out they’re a criminal who knows they’d never meet anyone’s minimum qualification standards checklist. If this person has a violent criminal background, and they move into your house and end up assaulting your neighbor, you could be legally liable because you didn’t go through the proper channels. And then you’ve got a lawsuit on your hands! Not fun. I’ve heard stories of roommates getting into fights and the cops showing up. Now, I’ll admit these specific situations aren’t common, but they still happen, and it’s definitely something to consider when renting out to roommates. Here’s the bottom line: Roommates can be great tenants, but overall, they tend to be more work and create more issues, problems, and challenges that just might not be worth the risk and the hassle. If you’re going to rent to roommates, just be prepared for some extra work and potentially complicated situations. Consider increasing rent for roommates to help you deal with the extra work and potential costs. Other red flags include people who are on the job hunt or “in between jobs” (this indicates a lack of reliable income), people
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