If you have children, at some point in your life with them you get slammed with question after question. After question. And often it leads to "Why?" or my favorite, "Well how do you know?"
Most of the time, I am pretty good with my daughter and take the time to explain things the best I can. Sometimes, when I know an explanation will require a long time, I just say, "Because I just know." "How?" Chimes in my little wide eyed preteen. "I've seen it before - it's called experience."
When it comes to property management and tenants - it doesn't matter what you think you know - it matters what you've "seen". Often, a good property manager has seen and been through alot. And it isn't just experience with the laws or rules, or even how many years you've been a landlord. I have met the most knowledgeable property managers who absolutely know nothing about tenants.
You get to know tenants by experience of actually interacting with them. There are looky-loo tenants just like there are looky-loo buyers and testing the market sellers. There are things they ask, and questions you can ask, that send up red flags. Knowing what the flags are will save you time and prevent you from wasting it. What are my top three "Because I just know..." flags that warn me I'm wasting my time?
1) They see the home and immediately start asking if the owner will "change this or change that".
2) Instead of looking at the space and if it will fit their needs - they point out to you that "you missed a spot on the baseboards."
3) They want to bring their mom, friend, anyone back for a second opinion.
It's a very hard, sometimes arrogant sounding statement, to say, "Because I just know." But at times, you just do and there is no other way to explain it. It doesn't matter if it is with raising a child, property management, or anything ... there is no experience like experience.
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