Owning rental property can be a rewarding investment financially, and it can also be rewarding emotionally. It’s nice to buy properties and it feels good, but if you end up with bad tenants, it can be the total opposite and become a nightmare. Avoiding bad tenants is critical to your success as a landlord, and today we’re telling you how to attract good tenants instead.
Bad Tenant Dangers
We operate under the philosophy that it’s better to have an empty property than a bad tenant in an occupied property. Bad tenants can be costly; causing lost rent and physical damage to the property. They can tear your place up. Another thing people don’t think about are the effects a bad tenant can have on other tenants. If you have a multi-unit building, you’ll also face lost rent and problems with other tenants in the same building. One bad tenant can drive out other good tenants.
Provide a High Quality Property
If you want to attract high quality tenants, you need to provide a high quality property. Make sure your rental home is well-cared for and maintained. A property that is neat and clean and well-kept will attract tenants who are also neat and clean.
Conduct a Thorough Tenant Screening
A good screening is required to avoid bad tenants and find good tenants. Your screening process must include checking credit history, criminal history, rental history, employment verification, and other items like that. Get as much data as possible about the prospective tenant. If there are early warning signs, talk about them or deny the application.
Use Facts, Not Instinct
A lot of landlords with trouble tenants tell us they went with their gut feeling when they were approving a tenant. That can be a problem. Don’t go on instincts. Sometimes you can be surprised 
when you look at the credit report of someone who you thought would make a great tenant.
Make sure you get the tenant you are looking for. If you have any questions about how to avoid bad tenants or anything pertaining to St. Joseph property management, please contact us at Real Property Management Southwest Michigan.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
