Verifying rental history- and the only question you really need to ask

Verifying rental history- and the only question you really need to ask

Verifying rental history- and the only question you really need to ask

An essential part of any application process is a reference from your prospective tenants' current (or previous) landlord.  But exactly how do you go about getting that?  What are some good questions to ask?  And is it true that everything can be summed up in one question?

Each Realtor/Property Manager is free to handle things as they see fit, of course- and as we all know, policies and procedures will vary from one office to the next.  It's critical to point out, however, that questions asked in the process of verifying one's rental history be consistent within that one office- meaning that what you ask of one prospective tenant's previous landlord, you ask of every prospective tenant's previous landlord.  It's the best way to steer clear of those pesky lawsuits and Fair Housing violations, you know.

A good list of questions might include the following:

"What was the monthly rent amount John was paying?"

"How many residents were in the property?"

"Did John pay on time every month?  If not, did you ever have to serve him with a Notice to Vacate or commence eviction proceedings?"

"Did John have any pets?  If so, did they cause any damage to the property or generate any noise complaints from neighbors?"

"Any complaints from neighbors about John?  Any issues or complaints from the HOA with respect to his tenancy?"

"Did John give you any sort of Notice to Vacate that your lease requires?"

"Is John a family member of yours, or have you ever been related to him in any way?"

"Have you completed your move-out inspection of the premises?  Did John keep the place in a good condition?  If so, did he leave it in a good condition- and do you anticipate he'll be receiving his security deposit back?"

Would you rent to John again?"

The main idea here is that while it doesn't apply in every single case, past behavior is often a good indicator of future behavior- and there's a great chance that however your prospective tenants behaved in their last place is going to be the way they behave in your place.

It's important to know the financials and whether you can reasonably expect your applicant to pay their rent on time each month.  It's important to know whether they did any damage to their last place- a red flag that you might not want to risk putting them in your place.

Doing a good job in vetting your prospects involves obtaining a solid, impartial rental reference as well- thus the question which establishes whether they've been renting from a family member who might not be the best at offering an unbiased assessment.  While references from family members are at times unavoidable, you should take their position into account when evaluating the entirety of your prospects' application and weigh things accordingly.  You'd also look to get a reference from another previous landlord if at all possible.

Lastly, you guessed it:  "the only question you really need to ask" is that last one, "Would you rent to John again?"

Taking everything else into consideration, that one question should be the bottom line in terms of whether ol' John might be a good fit for your place- or whether Mr. Doe needs to hit the road and find another place to live!

Verifying rental history- and the only question you really need to ask