Landlord Newsletter May 22, 2012 - How to Pre-Screen Tenants

In this newsletter:

• The Safest Way to Pre-Screen Tenants
  
• Free Forms (Above Article includes 4 screening forms)
• Ask the Attorney, Real Estate Attorney, John Reno
  
• Tenant Rent Excuses
  

Please e-mail us if you have any questions or would like to add or share any material / information. Have a great month!
John Nuzzolese
John@theLPA.com

How do you make first contact with new tenant prospects? Do you field telephone calls from prospective tenants at your home number? Do you talk to caller after caller only to realize most of them are not what you are looking for? Should these unknown strangers to have your telephone number and waste countless hours of your valuable time? As we become more experienced landlords, we're learning better ways to avoid bad situations and protect ourselves from dangerous people, time wasters and unqualified prospects.



1. FREE LPA Prospect Pre-Screening Card
With HTML Code for your Internet Ad


I recently began using a basic little chart on my internet rental ads that has made quite a difference in setting up appointments. I used to advertise in local newspapers, and spend thousands on rental ads, but websites like Craigslist and The LPA Rentals Available section have been a helpful way to save advertising dollars!

Just imagine receiving e-mails from prospective tenants with the pre-screening information you want before even talking to them. (With Craigslist, the customer doesn't even have to see your real e-mail address or phone number!) Call prospective tenants to set up appointments only if they meet your pre-screening qualifications! It has never been easier. It saves time, advertising money and helps you zero in on the tenant you're looking for...

Click to for your Free HTML code and also Free Download of the printable Prospect Card



2. Tenant-Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet
"It is far better to have no tenant than to have a bad tenant."

I've been asked many times to create a new form to help landlords ask the right questions on the telephone to help determine if the caller is someone you'd like to set an appointment to show your rental to. The LPA's new Tenant-Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet has developed from a simple prospect card into a handy and more complete screening tool for telephone interviews.

Tenant Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet

Have you ever met prospective tenants at your rental property, shown it to them, had them fill out a rental application only to find that they were nowhere near qualified? A simple pre-screening telephone interview can be a major time saver. Why not focus your attention on the most qualified prospects?

Before giving out the address of your rental property and committing your time to a doomed appointment with an unqualified renter, you have a chance to more carefully evaluate which prospects are worth meeting with....

Click for more about the Tenant Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet



3. Tenant-Finder™ Chart
Take the Stress Out of the Decision.
Score Prospects by Their Point Value

Score your Tenant-Finder™ Worksheet to help you evaluate the prospective applicant. Before making an appointment to show your property to an applicant, examine your findings. The LPA Tenant-Finder™ Prospect Qualifying Chart will help you determine a more accurate score for each applicant.

The Tenant-Finder™ Prospect Qualifying Chart helps you break down the evaluation of a rental prospect into five main categories....

Tenant-Finder™ Prospect Qualifying Chart

Some of the items contained in this rental application are:

Includes Non-refundable screening fee agreement. The prospective tenant pays a screening fee when the rental application is submitted to you. This fee covers you for the cost of checking references and running credit reports!

Click for more about The LPA Rental Application



5. Tenant Screening Credit Report

Only after successfully verifying the reference information on a complete rental application, should you proceed to ordering a credit report on the tenant. The credit report will confirm a good tenant's payment history and employment as listed with the credit bureaus.

Click for Credit Reports

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Ask the Attorney

The Landlord Protection Agency® presents John Reno, Esq., a highly experienced Landlord - Tenant attorney based on Long Island, NY.

John Reno also does Mortgage Loan Modifications (Nationwide).
(Mention The LPA for a 10% discount!)

Dear Mr. Reno:
We are the buyers of the property which the landlord put on the market. The lease with his tenants was up April 30th and they stopped paying rent in March. It’s now May 12th. We close on the house the first part of June. If they are still in the house, what rights do we have to get them out ASAP? They’ve known since the house went on the market in January that they’d have to move. - Megan , WA

A: You agreed to accept the house with the tenants? If so, can you ask the sellers to start the eviction now? You can wait until June- but why wait?

If you have a landlord tenant problem you'd like to ask a question about, please feel free to e-mail me your question.
Submit a landlord / tenant question for Mr. Reno
Please try to keep your questions as short and to the point as possible.

Read more from John Reno, Eviction Attorney

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Rent Excuses

"We're just students. Weren't you ever a kid? Seriously!" Seriously! You are just students about to wreck your chances of ever building decent credit and being able to qualify for a mortgage or a NEW CAR! - Sammy, SF, CA

"I expect the last month's rent to be pro-rated because I am leaving mid-month. I'll only give you half the rent." And this after using his security deposit for the previous month! - William P Sestrom

"I've been out of town. I wasn't even there for half the month." Sorry, but you're old enough to know you still owe the rent. - Ralph, Tustin, CA

"My indoor marijuana garden got raided by the cops and now I don't have any pot to sell, so i dont have any money for rent." Now i know why the electric bill was so high, plus the cops broke the front door when they served the search warrant. - David L., Kona, Hawaii

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If you haven't already, please take the opportunity to sign up for The LPA's Quick Check Credit Reports! Quick Check is a simple, fast way to access online credit reports while saving you money!

Special Discounts for LPA members.
See our price list!


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FREE Tenant Credit Reporting
(LPA Members Only)

Have you ever been beaten by a tenant on the rent? Most of us have and unfortunately, it is one of the costs of doing business as a landlord.
On the brighter side, remedies are available for many. If you have documented your tenancy with the proper paperwork including a rental application, lease agreement, late notices, etc., you may have a chance of collecting.

Credit bureau reporting is an option in which many modern landlords are beginning to participate....

Click here for the full article

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$5 OFF EACH SIGN WITH CODE: LPA5
Interactive 'For Rent' Signs
by 4RentSigns.com

As a landlord trying to rent out a vacancy, have you ever thought about how backwards the process is? You're the landlord. Why do you become a secretary answering phone calls all day every time you slap a 'For Rent' sign in front of a unit or place a classified ad?

Wouldn't you love to streamline the process ...

Click for the full article

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Did You Know...?
If you ordered any LPA forms in the past 60 days, the LPA will credit back to you the cost of those orders when you email us your new LPA Membership order #.

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LPA Membership Expiring?
Take Advantage of our low Renewal Prices!

How to Check your LPA Membership Expiration Date:

1. Be logged in with your LPA username & password
   
2. On the "Main Menu" (top right), click on "Your Orders" (right below your name)
   
3. The beginning date of your membership will be listed to the left of your membership order # in this format: YYYYMMDD
   

*Your Membership Expired? No Problem!


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LPA Members, Interested in past LPA Newsletters? Feel free to view the LPA Newsletter Archive

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