Should You Avoid 'Professional Tenants'?

Just as there are “Professional Students” (a lifelong student that never earns a degree or gets a real job), there are also “Professional Tenants”. They like to complain and challenge you and they often know the legal ins and outs.

They may legally challenge you and by the time you follow all of the proper legal steps they can vanish, leaving you with unpaid rent. At times they can be difficult to spot, very slippery and good at this job.

What are the warning signs?

The more thorough you are during your application process, while screening your potential tenants and experience over time, the easier it will be to spot the Professional Tenant.

Some of these tenants will include, but not be limited to the following:

• Bad credit, collections and bankruptcies.
• Well versed in state, federal and landlord-tenant law. May also work in contracting, law or real estate positions.
• No good reason or excuse for gaps in rental history.
• Provided references don’t check out as legitimate.
• Poor history with previous landlords such as late payments, legal issues and eviction.

Staying away from the Professional Tenant

Once the lease is signed you may have trouble and headaches ahead of you. It is much easier to deal with this during the screening process and pick out the bad apples sooner rather than later.

Here are some things you can do to protect yourself:

• Credit Checks
• Personal Interviews
• Check All References
• Verify Employment
• Documentation
• Check for Bankruptcies
• Court Records/Legal Issues

Do you already have a Professional Tenant?

Even though you have gone through a thorough screening process, you might still end up with this nightmare tenant.

This is the time to utilize an experienced landlord lawyer. They will be able to send you in the correct direction and create a plan to deal with this tenant.

If you have followed all of the proper steps you may still find yourself in this situation. Do not feel bad, some have truly made this a professional that they excel at.