All Forum Posts by: Kyle R.

SmartMove is a good choice. I screen tenants using Rentec, however, I did not screen her as I had solid references/income verification. Never skipping that again. I did check our county's eviction records but found nothing as she recently moved here.

I checked on the unit everyday. Stopped by one night and noticed the sheriff's sign was ripped off the door. Tried to open it and the key wouldn't fit. She paid the locksmith with a check that of course bounced. Two weeks later he shows up at the unit looking for his money. New tenants pass my name on to him and we have a good laugh.

She was a referral from my best tenants. Had an income of over 4x rent which I verified. Also received letters of recommendation from the doctor she worked for. Because she was a referral and I verified income, I accepted a personal check for first months rent (big mistake, never doing again). Check bounced, she gave excuse after excuse as to why it bounced. She then submitted another check with a numerical value of $1,200 and a written value of twelve thousand. Dated it for 2015 too. Filed eviction papers 7 days after she moved in. Turns out she's been evicted 9 times in the last 18 months and has active warrants for fraud. Sargent says she's a professional con artist and has been involved in fraud for quite some time. She has the ability to pay rent, but would rather spend it on material items than her bills. Unit was loaded with designer purses, $1k shoes, jewelry, expensive furnishings, etc. Ended up pressing charges for breaking/entering, obtaining property under false pretense, fraud, and criminal trespass. Sargent said she will eat every charge. One professional tenant down, many more to go.

Just evicted a tenant who moved in and never paid a dollar in rent. Sheriff evicts her on a Monday morning while she's watching Netflix in her pajamas. She tells the sheriff and I that she's kept the unit "clean" and doesn't understand why she has to leave. Sheriff tosses her to the curb and padlocks property. She strongly believed that she was entitled to the unit since she kept it "clean and in good condition" so she hired a locksmith to drill through the locks and moved back in. I bet you can guess what happened next.

Typically I hire a company to clean the carpets in my rental properties. Now that I have 4 units, I feel it may be more cost effective to buy a carpet cleaner and do it myself. As of now, I'm thinking of buying the Bissell Proheat 2x Revolution Pet. I've watched a few demos on youtube and it seems to do an incredible job. Does anyone have any recommendations on quality carpet cleaners? 

Received a referral from my best tenants. A coworker of theirs was looking for a condo in the neighborhood and I had one available. Since it was a referral, I only verified income, not credit/eviction as I felt good about them. Turns out they've been evicted 8 times in the last 18 months. Never paid me a dollar for rent, had to immediately evict. After the sheriff evicted the tenant and changed the locks, she hired a locksmith to drill through them so she could move back in. Called police and they chased her out. Also, they bounced a few thousand worth of checks on me, which is a felony in NC. Guess who has felony warrants now?

Not performing proper due diligence on a tenant. Thankfully I only had to learn this lesson once.

Exactly. Just evicted my first tenant and was told by many to go with cash for keys. Decided to opt for an eviction and it was definitely the right thing to do. If rent isn't submitted next month, issue the notice and start the process.

Do not rent to them. I just evicted a tenant who's income was 4X rent. They had solid references from their employer and even an endorsement from one of my current tenants. Similar to your situation, they had accounts in collection and somewhat shaky credit. I decided to look past it as their income was strong and had positive references. They never paid rent once, had to immediately evict. Fast forward three months, police are arresting them for fraud and obtaining property by false pretenses. Don't make the same mistake I did.

I use Rentec for credit, criminal, and eviction history. Reports come back instantly and pricing is fairly competitive. I believe I paid somewhere around $35 total for all three reports.

I purchased my first rental when I was 19. Used the majority of savings ($30K) to fund the down payment, which was somewhat nerve racking. I gained confidence in my own decisions by performing my due diligence and financial analysis to mitigate as much risk as possible.

The only way to know if a lender, agent, or contractor will take you seriously is to try. Experience is the best teacher.