Do your homework!  Get all over the internet and check out your renters.  Get their past several years rental/residential history, and verify it.  Hire a professional agency, if you need to.  Avoid having to say, ‘Oops, they seemed so nice and honest.’ 

Get a nice deposit up front.  And be prepared to claim it.  Your tenants could skip out on paying your rent, and still demand a return on their deposit if there is no documented damage to your home. 

Get busy with the eviction process at the first sign of seriously later rent, like say a week or more.  Get that 3-day notice served and bring along a creditable witness. 

If you get your rent paid with a worthless check, and you discover this is a regular pattern for your renters, send them immediate notification that the check is bad, and file with the State’s attorney if the check is honored within the time allowed by law. 

Do your part as a landlord to stop professional ‘squatters’ from taking advantage of  landlords. 

I’m not an attorney, so this is just my opinion.  I’d love to hear your comments and advice.