Our friends at Rentalutions recently published an article, “6 Types of Nightmare Tenants and How to Avoid Them.” It got me thinking about how not to become one of those tenants:
Nightmare 1: Tenants that don’t pay. Obviously, don’t be one of these. If you run into a problem, communicate early. Be transparent, don’t hide. Maybe the only solution is for you to move out of an apartment that you can no longer afford. But maybe the landlord has a tenant already waiting for your apartment. Or maybe it’s not as bad as you think. You won’t know until you talk to your landlord.
Nightmare 2: Tenants that damage the property. If the party got out of hand and stuff got wrecked, that won’t be a secret for long. One rule for life: don’t burn ex-spouses, ex-girlfriends/boyfriends, employers, landlords and friends. Word gets around. People, particularly landlords, check references. There’s an adage that applies here: you break it, you bought it. If you can’t afford immediate repayment, make a payment agreement with your landlord. It beats getting dragged into court later.
Nightmare 3: Tenants that argue with everything you say. It’s not just landlords. Try to get along with people in general. Landlords make mistakes too, but hear them out, listen carefully, and see if maybe the landlord is sharing truth.
Nightmare 4: Tenants that never move out. If you’ve given notice to vacate and your plans have changed, better communicate that to the landlord right away. Your apartment may already be rented to someone else. Possession might be nine tenths of the law, but not in rental housing. Staying past your vacate date might subject you to double damages payable to the landlord.
Nightmare 5: Tenants that become ghosts. Some tenant just move without notice and even leave their stuff behind. Don’t let that be you. This will come back to haunt you. The landlord will throw your stuff away and charge you for the privilege. Plus rental charges will continue to accrue. You may get a surprise bill or a surprise judgment and corresponding hit to your credit score.
Nightmare 6: Tenant that take the landlord to court. We already said that sometimes landlords make mistakes. Should that happen to you, try working things out with the landlord first. You can always go to court later, but once you do, the court case becomes a permanent record easily accessible online. In other words, your next prospective landlord may discover that you’ve been a plaintiff against another landlord and decide to rent to a less combative prospect.
Our careful tenant screening creates great apartment communities like Willow Grove Apartments in Pewaukee, or Georgetown Square Apartments in Racine. Call (262) 785-0840 to start your brand new dream!