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General Landlording & Rental Properties

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Mike L.
  • Commercial Real Estate Broker
  • Tustin, CA
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51
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How to find good tenants for a property in a not-so-good neighborhood

Mike L.
  • Commercial Real Estate Broker
  • Tustin, CA
Posted Apr 17 2014, 10:04

In Southern California, the rental properties that make most financial sense are often in some not-so-good neighborhoods.

I screen applicants by running a credit check, but I have never found anyone with a clean credit history. I've probably run a total of at least 40-50 credit applications (to rent out several units), and the highest FICO scores I've seen are in the mid 600s, and everyone has at least one collection on their record.

This certainly makes sense - if they made a lot of money and had good credit, they wouldn't be living in these neighborhoods.

I often end up overlooking mediocre credit, as long as the applicant has no past evictions. Some of these applicants turn out to be good tenants, but some turn out bad.

Can anyone offer practical advice for screening tenants for low-to-middle class housing?

Thanks,

Mike

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