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So what is a perfect tenant? A perfect tenant is a tenant that pays their rent each month on time, maintains the property well, reports any repair items quickly to minimize further damages, gets along with the neighbors, and finally, a perfect tenant, leaves thier rental home in excellent condition when their lease ends.

Short but sweet. It really is that simple. Now here’s where it gets complicated….or not. Whywould anyone want to be a perfect tenant beyond paying their rent on time? Well for starters, when you pay your rent on time it saves you a ton of money. No one wants to pay late fees. It’s a penalty that is a waste of good money for a tenant and can add up over time. Late fees are like speeding ticket fines; very painful, very expensive and nothing to show for it once paid.  But late fees are meant to be painful, in the hopes that the tenant wont pay late again, thus saving them money. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather save that $50 – $100 dollars. If I’m going to throw it away, I’d rather throw it away on that gorgeous pair of shoes I’ve been eyeing online. I know sometimes it can’t be helped, but careful planning and budgeting before leasing a home will help minimize these wasteful fees.

Another benefit of being a perfect tenant is minimization of stress levels.  OK, so your dog/kid/job/etc will probably continue to stress you out but your home should be your sanctuary, and living in a home free of worry, with regards to such things as  repair items that you are afraid to call the landlord to repair because you’re late on the rent, or worse, can’t pay the rent at all, is just plain stressful.  If you’ve lost your job it’s better to make arrangements to minimize the stress of having to find another job while avoiding the landlord.  Moving in with family is an option,  but many hate to move in with family, and would rather lose a limb before doing it. It’s trading one stress for another, but in this case, you know it’s going to be short term, just as long as you can find another job.  But what if you don’t have another family member to move in with….or would really prefer to lose a limb instead?  Then quickly, make an arrangement with the landlord, explain your situation and down grade your rental to something you can afford.   Your landlord may even be willing to work with you by lowering your rent for a certain time period, giving you time to get back on your feet.

And a landlord working with you is also a benefit of being a perfect tenant.  Do the math, a bird in the hand….If you’ve been paying your rent on time for years and all of a sudden you have a hickup, don’t you think your landlord would be willing to work something out with you? Probably.   What if you’ve been a tenant that’s been late repeatedly, do you think the landlord will still be willing to work with you then? Probably not. They may decide to take their chances and get a new tenant.

And finally, when you’re ready to buy, you’ll get a positive verification of rent if you’ve been a perfect tenant and paid your rent on time.  That’s got to be worth something.

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So what’s the story here?  There are some reputable private owners, (quite a lot of them, actually I’d say most owners), and then there are some that are not.   A while back I did a blog post Finding A Rental – With Or Without An Agent?,  and I talked about the pros and cons of using an agent to help you find a rental home.  The focus on that post was more about minimizing the headache of running around on your own, but now with this young lady’s situation I feel the risk that is always there comes to the forefront and should always be considered.  Who am I giving my security deposit money to?  Is it an honest and reputable person, or is it someone who lacks integrity and would be only too happy to help me part with my money?

I must say this; working with an agent will never completely eliminate the risk but it sure would minimize it a lot.  Do you think an agent would risk his/her license for someone who is trying to steal your deposit?  I strongly doubt it.  If this is how they are making their primary living, the answer is probably a resounding no.  That agent would move mountains to make sure the owner is legitamate and that they in fact own the property and have a right to lease it.  Even if you don’t want to work with an agent representing you, at the very least work with an agent or management company that has the rental property listing.   It will minimize the risk to your security deposit money. 

There is some benefit to using a management company/realtor to find your rental home.  Add protecting your security deposit to the list.

OK, so for starters, you need to:

• Truly Know How Much You Can Afford to Pay Each Month.  Most landlords will qualify your rent payment on 30 – 35% of your income.  So if you make $3000 per month you can qualify for up to $1000 per month rent. Some will go as high as 40% which will allow you up to $1200 per month in rent.   That’s what they’ll qualify you on, but you also need to do your own budget.  Look at all your expenses, not including your rent, and compare it against your income.  If your expenses and your income do not leave you much for saving after rent is paid you may want to whittle that qualifying rent payment down a bit so you can have some money to put in savings or for an unexpected emergency.  You don’t want to be in  a situation where you have an emergency and you have to forgo paying a bill or worse, your rent, to address the emergency.  That is the start of a downhill spiral.  If you’re trying to get your credit back on track to actually buy a home, you’ll want to avoid a surprise like that one which can derail your efforts.  Be realistic….and very honest with yourself.  Once you know how much you can comfortably pay you need to…..
• Define Your move In Date.  Another obvious point but once you know that you’ll know when to really start looking and putting in place other things that will make your rental search easier.  Looking 6 months in advance is a waste of time.  No rental is going to last that long unless it’s in pretty bad shape or overpriced for the market.  Thirty to sixty days is a good time to start looking once you know your move in date.  Once you do know that date, the next thing to do is….
• Put Together A Deposit. If you don’t immediately have access to funds for a deposit, have plans to get it together even before you start looking for a home.  Well how much will you need?  Most deposits will be at least 1 month’s rent…at least.  With more challenging credit it could be 2 months.  So be prepared for that.  Many….and I pause to make a point here…MANY people go out SERIOUSLY looking for rental homes and don’t have funds for a deposit.  I can’t tell you why. It’s like buying a house with not a penny towards the purchase.  Even “no money down” purchases require some form of earnest money to take a home off the market.  If you’re not sure whether you’ll need more than 1 month’s rent for your deposit, why not save 2 months? It may be harder, and take more time, but if you don’t need all 2 month’s rent you can bump your savings account with the difference. Once you’ve got your deposit in place you’ll need to …..
• Plan  For Other Deposits.  Many utility companies will run your credit if you are not transferring your service, which usually occurs when moving to a different county. They may also require a deposit and it’s going to be based on your credit.  This is not a surprise you want to have.  It can get pretty expensive if you have a water, gas and light deposit requirement, in addition to first month’s rent and your rental deposit.

If you’ve planned in advance and are ready, you can look and apply for the perfect home and know with confidence that if your application is approved, when they ask for the rent and deposit, you’ll be prepared.  Pat yourself on the back at that point and move on in!

In today’s volatile real estate market, the rental industry has seen a huge boost from individuals losing their homes and choosing a rental as their only other alternative.  But there are things you need to do, and others to avoid. While there are many good tenants out there, there are also bad apples that need avoiding and a good assessment system will help sort the good from the bad.  Any responsible tenant will be happy to answer your questions, will understand why they are being asked for the information and will willingly provide evidence of  their track record to secure a good property.

Now, not all people that lost a home will turn out to be bad tenants. Some of my best tenants have lost their homes previously.  But there is a key question that you as a Landlord must ask a potential renter in this situation to benefit from the large windfall of potential renters that were once homeowners.  Most homeowners dread living in an apartment again, and will do what it takes to rent a home where they will feel a little more comfortable.

If you want to know how to find good tenants, the first place to start is with advertising. Many landlords use just one or two avenues, and this can be a mistake. You need to use as many advertising outlets as you can. Make sure you have good photos that show the property off to its best and ensure that all information is up to date and correct facilities are included to avoid wasting everyone’s time. Research the price of rentals in your area and rather than undercutting the price of others, why not offer 1 month free, or $100 instant discount each month rent is paid by the 1st.  Perceived value by the tenant and less money given away over the year on your part. Start advertising with your local papers and try the website based agencies rental websites that offer a good country wide service also.  Of course I’m going to say consider ours.  While most rental sites focus on listing a property,  listing other sources in one spot such as moving companies, roomate finders etc., we also focus on educating your tenant and you.  We also can manage the property for you – or not,  what ever you decide.

The next step in the process is screening. In order find out how to keep great tenants, you need good tenants in the first place. You need to do background checks on any of your potential renters, and while some of these resources are free, the most thorough services cost money. You can offset these costs by charging a fee to your applicants. Not only do you need to run a credit history, but also a criminal background check as well, delinquencies on rental payments, etc. It’s not enough to just get references, but you call these people as well. Check out private rentals by getting canceled checks, proof of rent deposits (bank receipts), etc.  There is also nothing better than meeting with your tenants in person as not only will this open the relationship but you will also have a gut feeling if things are not right.

For some tips on how to keep great tenants; be straight talking and up front with your renters. Present your property well from the outset and if your tenants have a problem in the residence, be prompt about fixing it. Have a list of emergency numbers to give them if they can’t get in touch with you. These are just a few tips on how to find good tenants, and how to keep great tenants once you’ve found them.

If you would like access to instantly downloadable strategies to find out more great tips for finding and keeping great tenants then click the link above or below today, and see what all the fuss is about.

The funny thing about New Year’s resolutions is that after January or February most of us tend to forget them all.  Why is that, I’ve often wondered?  One of my answers to myself is that we never write them down like a plan.  Millions of people want to lose weight, every year that is one of the top ten New Year’s Resolution, and many make the first move by going out and signing up for gym membership or buying gym equipment.  For some they stick with it, but for most of us, the gym equipment becomes a clothes rack, or the gym membership becomes a bill that is never fully utilized anymore.  We just can’t seem to find the time to squeeze it all in.

Well there’s been a lot of talk of change lately, and I for one plan to change how I do things.  The 2 key words in that last sentence is plan and change. The change is hard to happen without any planning, and I think that’s where many of us stumble.  So from GeorgiaHomesForRent I say we do what the weight loss people do….we join up for a challenge for our New Year’s Resolution.  I challenge renters to sit down and plan a budget with the goal of allocating funds towards any stumbling blocks that prevent you from buying any house or even that gorgeous rental house you live in and pay rent for right now, with no tax benefits I might add;  I challenge renters to stick to that plan for 12 months, never deviating except in the event of an emergency, where it makes sense to put your family first. I challenge you to stop sitting on the sidelines  watching those gorgeous homes for sale that were once priced out of your budget, still remain unattainable to you because you may have credit challenges to overcome, or not enough money saved to purchase it at the ridiculously low price it’s going for.  How long will it take you to fix” it“, whatever “it” is?  If it takes 5 years where will home prices be then?  Do you want to wait until then to find out?

If your challenge is solely down payment funds, did you know you can buy a home, your primary residence, with a down payment of $100? Don’t believe me?  Find out everything you need to know by going to $100DownForeclosure.com and view the gorgeous homes that are for sale.  Getting one of those could be your new years resolution.  It’s not hard to qualify, just use an FHA loan to purchase the home and buy the home as your primary residence.  View the FAQ page for more details.  See, I’ve gotten rid of that stumbling block for you!

What if your credit is challenged?  Have you seen a copy of  your credit report lately?  Did you know that errors may be on your report that you may not be aware of until you try to apply for….anything?  That’s not the time you want to find out you have a problem.  And the credit Bureaus and your creditors are not always perfect.  They make mistakes sometimes.  It’s your job to make sure that they don’t.   A good place to start your  New Year’s Resolution is toWhat are you waiting for?   If you’ve been a fan of my blog I always say “Knowledge Is Power”. I believe that wholeheartedly. Once you know what’s on your report you can fix it. You can contact the credit bureaus and have them remove any errors. What’s an error? Well here’s an example. You had a bill that you got behind on, it went into charge off status, it took you some time but you managed to pay it off.  However, it’s still showing up on your report as charged off with an outstanding balance. What do you think that will do to your score if it’s corrected? You guessed it! The fastest way to bring a credit score out of the dungeons is to PAY-OFF-A-CHARGED-OFF-BILL! There’s more to that story but for now we’ll stick to the basics.  If it’s too tedious to do it on your own, there are tons of companies that can help you with it.

I know it may be hard to keep up with all these “challenges” and make your new year’s resolution come true.  But nothing worth having is easy, and it wont come to you by wishing for it.  You have to DO something about it.  I challenge you to take it 1 step at a time.  1-plan; 2-implement; 3-make it happen. Maybe reading this article was step 1. 

Must Read:
Why Rent? Own Your Dream Home!

Ah, rental deposits, the security a Landlord seeks, the payout a tenant dreads.  Many tenants want to pay as little as possible, Many Landlords want to protect themselves as much as possible.  The real question is how to strike a delicate balance and how much is the norm?

Well, from a Landlord’s perspective there is no balance to strike, their goal is to protect themselves from damages.  In private homes rental deposits will usually be around 1 months rent if a tenant has decent credit.  Why? The experience is that someone with decent credit will likely not miss any rent payments, and the only other risk would be damages to a home.  Repairing legitimate damages are not cheap.  Maybe individually, but compiled together can get expensive. A perfect tenant would pay all rent on time, and thoroughly clean and paint upon move out.  I’ve seen that once (the clean and paint on move out part) in 5 years! Needless to say that tenant got every penny of her deposit back, no questions asked.  We really were sorry to see her go.

Now tenants with some credit challenges will definitely be charged more of a deposit.  Why?  Because according to your credit history, you’ve had some challenges paying your bills, so the risk is higher that you may repeat the offense, and the Landlord will want protection against that.  The higher rental deposit will cover risks against possible missed payments and possible move out repairs.  Combined, those could possibly be more than just one months rent.

So how do you minimize a rental deposit?  You can always ask the Landlord to lower it, or you can start working on repairing your credit so that when you are ready to move, you’ll pay less for your rental deposit.  The first thing to do is get a copy of your credit report.

Must Reads:
Rental deposits – Getting Back As Much As Possible
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You call the management company, and they send someone out to take a look, and quickly determine the problem and fix it.  The landlord also takes care of the ceiling.  But your furniture or – stuff?  It’s all on you.  If the stuff is damage, with no renters insurance, you’ll have to replace it all at your cost.  If you spent an arm and a leg on your – stuff – you’re not going to be happy. But with renters insurance you’ll get the replacement cost minus your deductible, and that will definitely ease some of the pain.

Also keep in mind that insurance companies will give you a discount if you have multiple policies, so if you take out a renters insurance policy at the same company as your auto, you’ll get a discount on at least one of them. If you pay your auto insurance monthly, you may be able to do the same with your renters policy and pay one affordable monthly bill for both policies at the same company.

Think about all the other things that could go wrong, fire, storms, flood, even theft.  If you don’t have renters insurance, you really should consider it.