Past homeowners with no rental history

[Naguib K.]

When approving new tenants I do my best to screen out people who will not take good care of my property, in addition to screening for income, etc. My single-family home properties are not high-end but neither are they low end. I keep them very well maintained. I often get applicants who are moving from a house they have recently sold because of divorce. Because these applicants have no past landlords to contact and may live out of the area, I really have no good way to check on them aside from their financial background. I have approved these types of tenants in the past and though most are solid some are careless with my rentals and cause more wear and tear or damage than I am comfortable with. Recently I have been requesting a double security deposit from these type of tenants but most do not follow-up.

I would like to know how other landlords check on applicants who are recent homeowners with no rental history .

[Bill S.]

@Naguib K. what I have done in your case is to pursue the other references on their application in greater details. If they have pets, I have found their pet references to be more open and candid than previous landlords. I call their employers (direct supervisors) and try and ask open ended questions. If they are short on rental references, I ask the supervisors some housing related questions to try and get them to talk. Most usually will. If I get several tight lipped replies I take that as a sign and move on to other applicants. I might miss some good ones but I know I miss more bad ones with this approach.

I am in no obligation to help people out who are in a tight spot.