1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to How to Money. I'm Joel and I'm Matt, 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:25,479 Speaker 1: and today we're discussing the easiest ways to screen tenants. Joel, 3 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: what's going on, man? What's up? Moundy? Just drinking the 4 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 1: beer and talking money with you. That's what we do 5 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: on the show. Have you ever watched Black Mirror? I haven't, 6 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 1: but I've heard good things. Yeah. Well, what they got 7 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: going for them is like this dystopian sort of future 8 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: sci fi thing, which I'm super into. I love dystopian stuff. Yeah, 9 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: you know, except that you don't like you don't like 10 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 1: sci fi though you like you don't like SciFi, you 11 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:50,879 Speaker 1: don't like comic books. I'm not a huge car but 12 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: I like dystopian though, like I love I love Brave 13 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: New World. I'm all about dystopian future stuff. Dude. Okay, 14 00:00:57,240 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: So if that's the case you need, you should probably 15 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: check up Black Mirror. It's a little dark. I guess 16 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: it's aptly named. It's like dark Mirror. It's sort of 17 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,919 Speaker 1: like a reflection of society, but like a darker version 18 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: of it, and specifically there is I was listening to 19 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:12,960 Speaker 1: The Indicator by NPR. Do you ever listen to that podcast? 20 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: I don't. It's it's pretty cool. They take a number, 21 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: break it down sort of how it affects our society, 22 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: our economy, the markets, different things like that. But they're 23 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: talking about how China the country, you know, China part 24 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: of it. They're rolling out this sort of social credit experiment, 25 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:33,559 Speaker 1: which I found incredibly fascinating. Basically, it's like an uber rating, 26 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 1: but for yourself, like as a human being, and so 27 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: whatever interactions you have, whether it be with a business 28 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,040 Speaker 1: or like other people, or whether you stop for people 29 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:46,199 Speaker 1: that are trying to cross the sidewalk, you get rated 30 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: like there's people on the lookout and it's super big brother. Yeah, 31 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: it's based on a thousand points scale, and so like 32 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: that's where you start out, like at the very beginning 33 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: with a thousand points, and you get deducted for stuff 34 00:01:57,080 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: and so like say you get a traffic ticket, boom, 35 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: get like fifty, it's knocked off, and your social credit 36 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: score affects your ability to take advantage of like luxury products. 37 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: So they've got like this high speed train and they're 38 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: interviewing this guy and he had defaulted on some loans, 39 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 1: some business loans. He's a big time business owner, millionaire, guy, 40 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: but he defaulted on some loans and because of that, 41 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: he couldn't take the high speed train. Isn't that crazy? 42 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: That is crazy? Yeah. I read a little bit about 43 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: this and it was fascinating and it was kind of 44 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: interesting and cool but also kind of messed up terrible 45 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: at the same time. And I'd heard people talk about 46 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: specifically that one Black Mirror episode where people were kind 47 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 1: of being ranked right based on their interactions with other people. 48 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:44,080 Speaker 1: And so, you know, I could turn in a crappy 49 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: podcast performance here and you could like deduct me. It 50 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: would be terrible. It just it was. It seems awful, right, 51 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: but it also it could be where we're headed in 52 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 1: some regards. Bizarrely fascinating is what it is. And it 53 00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: sounds like it is kind of turning into real life 54 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: in China, and so it seems like a democratization of 55 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: sorts of kind of who you are as a person 56 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,920 Speaker 1: in some ways, which, let's be honest, we've talked about 57 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: this before on our Credit Score episode. Right now, it's 58 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: in the hands of these major three bureaus that get 59 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: to decide whether you're a good person, whether your credit 60 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 1: worthy or not, even without you having signed up to 61 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: be a part of that system. And so in some 62 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 1: ways this seems a touch better, even though it's like 63 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: creepy and terrible, at the same time, it seems like 64 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: a little bit better than just these three companies having 65 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,959 Speaker 1: all this power they say yes or no um and 66 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: and in this there's a little more democratized element to it. 67 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 1: But it's still weird as can be. And I don't 68 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:38,080 Speaker 1: think I look forward to a day where we were 69 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 1: all rating each other and saying, you know, whether you know, 70 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: Matt held the door for the elderly lady behind him 71 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: or just completely flicked me off in traffic, whatever it is, 72 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:48,640 Speaker 1: if I was like speeding or something like that. It 73 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: made it sound like that almost anybody could rank or 74 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: rate somebody that they had an interaction with, just as 75 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: casually as walking past the one in the street. And 76 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: like I said, on one hand, that's crazy interesting and 77 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: it's like something I would want to watch, But what 78 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: I want to live that in my real life? You know, 79 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: day to day do I want my kids sort of 80 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: worried about what their scores are? And to an extent, 81 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: that's what we do as adults when it comes to 82 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: to social media. That's definitely one of the downsides of that, 83 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: you know, it's it's terrible from that standpoint. It's terrible 84 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: how social media and technology is pulling us away from 85 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: real human interactions and we're so worried about our scores 86 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:27,360 Speaker 1: again talking about things being turned into games. On one hand, 87 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 1: that's amazing because it makes things interesting, and the natural 88 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:34,599 Speaker 1: byproduct of that is that things are better, whether that 89 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: be oh, you get points for picking up litter or 90 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: something like that. But on the other hand, it's like, oh, man, 91 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: that's a complete substitute for real life and the real 92 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: human interactions that we have with you know, each other, 93 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: our friends, and as well as with our families and 94 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: our kids. Yeah, I think it's super interesting that, like 95 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:53,919 Speaker 1: we'll stay on top of kind of what's happening with 96 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: these social credit experiments. You know, Like I said, it's 97 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: weird now kind of the way the way it is, 98 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: and it's this seems even weirder, And I'm just not sure, 99 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,040 Speaker 1: you know where we should reside when it comes to 100 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:09,600 Speaker 1: determining other people's credit worthiness and rating each other based 101 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: on our interactions. I mean, man, are you even allowed 102 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: to have a bad day in a scenario? Yeah, dude, yeah, exactly, 103 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: or feel paid or anger or anything like that, and 104 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: are you able to be real when it comes to 105 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 1: real life or he's just so concerned with playing the game, 106 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 1: playing the social credit game that you're just gonna do 107 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: whatever it takes to make sure, you know, don't get 108 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: points deducted. And it's it's crazy. It's worth mentioning there 109 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: too that it was. It's called it's considered an experiment, 110 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: like there's a few cities in China that are doing it. 111 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:36,720 Speaker 1: Is not like it's something that they're rolling out and 112 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: they say that, oh yeah, this is going to be 113 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: the solution, but it is an incredibly fascinating approach. Well, 114 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: onto our fascinating beer of the day, Matt. Today we 115 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,560 Speaker 1: are drinking a really interesting one by a brewery called 116 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: Variant Brewing and they're just up the road from where 117 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: we live in Atlanta, uh. And this is called Raspberry 118 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:59,280 Speaker 1: Johnny Kashmir and it's a New England style I p 119 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: a reform mented on three different kinds of fruits. And 120 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 1: we will tell you what we think about this really 121 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: fascinating beer at the end of the show, are Joel 122 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: you wanna kick it off? Yeah, buddy, So the subject 123 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: at hand for today's show is the easiest way to 124 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: screen tenants, And Matt, you and I are all about 125 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 1: rental properties, right. We've talked about this in multiple episodes past, 126 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: and we figured we should dedicate a whole show to 127 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: how to screen tenants, because after you purchase a rental property, 128 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,480 Speaker 1: doing a good job screening tenants is the most important 129 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: thing you can do to make sure that that is 130 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:35,480 Speaker 1: a success for you. And like most new things, it 131 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: can be scarier, daunting, it might feel even intimidating until 132 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: you actually go through that screening process. But like most 133 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 1: of those things, also it's easier than you think it is. 134 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: That's right, and this is a great episode. Two. If 135 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: you're not into real estate, this is great too if 136 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:52,719 Speaker 1: you have a primary residence and you're considering, oh, you know, 137 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: maybe someday I could just run out this house. And 138 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 1: this is a great sort of introduction to one of 139 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:01,279 Speaker 1: the biggest things that is Joel said, kind of daunting 140 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: or foreign, but also too if you're a renter er man, 141 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: have a listen. Listen to this episode. You'll pick up 142 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 1: some tips on what it is that your new potential 143 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 1: landlord is looking for and you know, that will help 144 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: you to snag that property that you got your eye on. Yeah, 145 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: the as a renter, the way you go through this 146 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:21,600 Speaker 1: process could be the determining factor of whether or not 147 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: you end up, you know, signing a lease on that 148 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,560 Speaker 1: house that you're interested in or condo or apartment, whatever 149 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: it is, or whether you end up playing second fiddle 150 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: to someone that played the game better. And so, you know, 151 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: as a potential tenant, I think, yeah, you can learn 152 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: a lot from this episode two. All right, man. The 153 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: problem is that it can be tempting to skip screen 154 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: tenants or to do a crappy job. Some nice folks 155 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: might show up to see the place to say they 156 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: make a lot of money and they want to rent it, 157 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: so you go ahead and sign the contract, right, wrong, 158 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: that's right. You do not send a contract. Most folks 159 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: out there are probably great and they're telling the truth. 160 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: They might make a ton of money, but that doesn't 161 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: really matter if it's all going towards U. Yeah, and 162 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: there are a lot of people that talk a good game, 163 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: and it's easy to have a nice conversation with someone 164 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: that is super friendly and assume that they are going 165 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: to be a great tenant. But that doesn't always translate, right, Yeah. 166 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: I mean we try to operate from the standpoint of 167 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: thinking that most folks out there are good, you know, 168 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: and but unfortunately we can't operate from that standpoint living 169 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: in a big city where we don't know someone's grandma. 170 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:25,600 Speaker 1: You know. If I do someone's grandma, i'd be okay. Yeah. 171 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 1: And the problem is matter that terrible tenants can cause 172 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:32,200 Speaker 1: major problems for your house with your neighbors, and they 173 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 1: can bring down not just your house but the entire street. 174 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: And that's why we think it's so important to screen 175 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: potential tenants well. Because you've got a rental property right 176 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 1: that you've put a lot of time and intention and 177 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 1: money and effort into, and you want to make sure 178 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,160 Speaker 1: that you are getting someone that is going to care 179 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:50,560 Speaker 1: about that place and be a good tenant for a 180 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 1: long time to ensure that viability of this thing that 181 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 1: you've spent so much of your life and your effort on. 182 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: Kay man, it's incredibly important to screw and so doing 183 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: a great job when it comes to screening your tenants 184 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:06,040 Speaker 1: can be the difference between the next twelve, eighteen or 185 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:08,959 Speaker 1: twenty four months being a dream, you know, where you're 186 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 1: able to build wealth or it being a nightmare where 187 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: you're constantly on call, you're trying to put out fires, 188 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 1: hopefully not literal fires, but where it's just sort of 189 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:20,360 Speaker 1: this constant thing that's kind of hanging over your head. Yeah. 190 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: I was just talking to my friend Tim the other day, 191 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:24,599 Speaker 1: Matt and he has seven rental properties, and he was 192 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 1: telling me about the beginning of his rental property career. 193 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: He said that literally the first few tenants were terrible 194 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: and he had to vict every single one of them, 195 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:36,440 Speaker 1: and it was because he didn't screen tenants well. Right, 196 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 1: So Tim didn't learn his lesson the first time or 197 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: the second time. But I think the time yeah, I 198 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: think they're time around, he got it and you got 199 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 1: this to him, and since then, you know, Tim hasn't 200 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,720 Speaker 1: had any problem with tenants. And he explained to me 201 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 1: that he thought, hey, this person is pretty nice, right, 202 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:56,160 Speaker 1: they seem good in person, they seem good on paper. 203 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:58,959 Speaker 1: But it turns out that without this screening process that 204 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:01,040 Speaker 1: we're going to walk you through, it's really easy for 205 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: people to kind of skip by and go from place 206 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: to place, find a new landlord to kind of prey 207 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: on and take advantage of their kindness, um, and then 208 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 1: stop paying rent ruin your place. There are so many 209 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:15,880 Speaker 1: terrible options that could come from from not screening attendant well. 210 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 1: And the thing is Matt too that it's pretty easy 211 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:20,720 Speaker 1: to screen a tenant well. And we're gonna get into 212 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:23,200 Speaker 1: that as well. Yeah, So going back to eviction that 213 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 1: he had to do a few times, they're like, that's 214 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: the most expensive thing that you could possibly do when 215 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 1: it comes to working with a tenant. An average eviction 216 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:35,200 Speaker 1: costs anywhere between twenty five to and that is a 217 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: lot of money. Yeah, not to mention the headaches right 218 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: of having to go through that process. And depending on 219 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 1: the state that you live in, some states have laws 220 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:47,440 Speaker 1: that favor landlords and others have laws that favor tenants. 221 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: But no matter what state you're in, even if you're 222 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: in a landlord friendly state, if anything, a tenant is 223 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:56,080 Speaker 1: not only a pain in the butt, it costs you 224 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: time and money at the same time. And that is 225 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 1: not a good recipe for succeeding in the investment property game. Yeah, 226 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: I mean that's not why you got into it, right, 227 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,680 Speaker 1: It's not like you got into investment properties and Reynolds 228 00:11:06,679 --> 00:11:08,960 Speaker 1: thinking I want to get some tenants in there and 229 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: then after three months, I want to evict them because 230 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:14,840 Speaker 1: I want them to be terrible. Yeah, now that's not 231 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,120 Speaker 1: at all. Why why you got into that? Uh, that 232 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:20,480 Speaker 1: as an investment, right, and so avoiding that altogether is 233 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,199 Speaker 1: certainly the number one priority when it comes to screening tenants. 234 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 1: Just be sure. We'll go ahead and mention this at 235 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 1: the beginning, but make sure you're following fair housing laws 236 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:34,680 Speaker 1: very closely. You cannot discriminate based on color, disability, family status. 237 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,319 Speaker 1: I'm gonna say them all, national origin, race, religion, or sex. 238 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 1: And this means, whether you do that intentionally or not, 239 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 1: you can get in trouble if the you know, potential 240 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 1: tenant that you have is able to sort of document 241 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:52,320 Speaker 1: how maybe you're screening or not running to them versus 242 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:55,040 Speaker 1: someone else, and the only difference between them and the 243 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:57,920 Speaker 1: person that you're looking at is one of those protected classes. 244 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 1: I remember, dude, early on families at US. That's one 245 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:04,400 Speaker 1: that surprised me because I remember thinking early on that like, oh, yeah, 246 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 1: it might be nice to have a younger family in there, 247 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:08,840 Speaker 1: but like, you can't do that at all. She can't 248 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 1: discriminate against the single people. Yeah, exactly. From an investors standpoint, 249 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: you think, oh a family stability, You think, okay, they're 250 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,200 Speaker 1: gonna be here for a while. But yeah, a friend 251 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: of mine luckily mentioned to me early on that like, 252 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:24,920 Speaker 1: oh no, you you can't say this would be a 253 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: great house for a young family, because you start getting 254 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,240 Speaker 1: to this sort of slippery slope, this this gray area 255 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,080 Speaker 1: where someone could point to that and then say, oh no, 256 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: you're trying to market that towards families. It says right there, 257 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 1: great for young families versus you know, like a single 258 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,320 Speaker 1: person that might want to move in. So make sure 259 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:47,440 Speaker 1: that you are steering clear of those protected classes and 260 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:50,840 Speaker 1: that you're making your property available to everyone. Yes. So, 261 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,680 Speaker 1: now that we've kind of seen how expensive in eviction 262 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: can be for a landlord and how much headache it 263 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: could be the months of dealing with law enforcement and 264 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 1: a tenant that refuses to cooperate, let's cover the nitty 265 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:07,080 Speaker 1: gritty of how to go about screening screening well so 266 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 1: that you can avoid those problem tenants right after the break, 267 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 1: all right, Matt, So back to the break, we promise 268 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 1: we talked about the stages of screening, and my favorite 269 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:29,559 Speaker 1: stage of screening is allowing tenants to pre screen themselves 270 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:33,600 Speaker 1: effectively by putting the requirements that you have for potential 271 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,560 Speaker 1: tenants in the listing of your property. Yeah, and so 272 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 1: it helps to put your minimum credit score and income 273 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 1: amount required to rank your place inside the body of 274 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:47,000 Speaker 1: the listing because people that don't meet those requirements just 275 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:50,000 Speaker 1: oftentimes won't reach out in the first place when they 276 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:52,839 Speaker 1: read that in your listing. Yeah, they just need not apply, right, 277 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,960 Speaker 1: You're just wasting everyone's time if you see, or it 278 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: doesn't even have to be income based or a credit 279 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 1: score based. It can even be a no pets allowed. 280 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:04,760 Speaker 1: And if you've got five dogs will shoot, just skip 281 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: right over that list because you're just gonna waste your time, 282 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,440 Speaker 1: and you're gonna waste the manager or the landlord's time. 283 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:12,760 Speaker 1: It's just a way for everyone to save time and 284 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:15,400 Speaker 1: to keep moving on with life. And so on that note, 285 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,320 Speaker 1: the next step is scheduling showings. And so I don't 286 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:21,440 Speaker 1: personally do open house showings, Joe, do you know I 287 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,480 Speaker 1: schedule each one individually? Awesome? Yeah, exactly, That's that's how 288 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: it rolled to. And so during the showings, you want 289 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,280 Speaker 1: to ask yourself, do they show up when they say 290 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 1: they're going to you want to note that if they 291 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 1: show up late or even are a no show and 292 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 1: don't communicate that that's a bad start in one way 293 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:38,920 Speaker 1: to weed out the folks that are just kinda may 294 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: like those aren't the kind of tendance that you want 295 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:43,120 Speaker 1: to have. It's also a great idea to do a 296 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:45,800 Speaker 1: pre interview here while they're they're looking at the place. 297 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 1: You can ask questions about their employments, whether or not 298 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:51,960 Speaker 1: they smoke, what their income might be, if they have 299 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 1: any pets. Some folks allow dogs but not cats, or 300 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: vice versa. You can do all these things even before 301 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: they apply again, so save yourself time. There's no sense 302 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 1: in reading through an application and starting to make the 303 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:07,760 Speaker 1: calls or sending out the emails when you know there's 304 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:10,960 Speaker 1: certain requirements where that possible tenant doesn't meet. Yeah, and 305 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,800 Speaker 1: I can't stress enough this part of the phase where 306 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: you're talking to a perspective tenant. You're emailing back and 307 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: forth with them, You're setting up a time to come 308 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 1: and view the house or the apartment or whatever it 309 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: may be. You know, those email conversations will tell you 310 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:28,920 Speaker 1: a lot. You know, how they use language, how promptly 311 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 1: they reply, what sort of tone they use in their emails? 312 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,880 Speaker 1: And then in person, right when you finally meet that person, 313 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 1: do they arrive on time? How do they present themselves 314 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 1: in person as well? Those sorts of things will make 315 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 1: a major impact on how you view this person and 316 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,920 Speaker 1: whether you want them living in the investment property that 317 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,640 Speaker 1: you own or not. And then on top of that, Matt, 318 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: like you mentioned, yeah, some of those pre interview questions, 319 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: you'll get a different answer out of people, and oftentimes 320 00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 1: a much more truthful perspective if you ask those questions 321 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: in person. Via email, it's really easy to present yourself 322 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: in one light and make yourself seem better than you 323 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:08,920 Speaker 1: actually are. But in person, when you ask those questions, 324 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: just in a nonchalant way, sometimes right, not grilling people, 325 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:14,280 Speaker 1: not putting them under the coplight and asking them the 326 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: tough questions, but just nonchalantly bringing some of these questions up. 327 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:20,400 Speaker 1: If you notice a lot of hemming and hawing or 328 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 1: not even knowing some of the answers to some of 329 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: these questions, that's a really good way to know that 330 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 1: you are talking with someone who might not be a 331 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:31,240 Speaker 1: great tenant. Yeah man, Or even something as silly as 332 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:34,200 Speaker 1: what kind of condition their car is when they pull up. 333 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:36,160 Speaker 1: You know, if they pull up in something that looks 334 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 1: like it's in terrible shape. And now I'm not talking 335 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: about a beater right where you're you've got a great, 336 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,080 Speaker 1: dependable car and it's just kind of old. But I'm 337 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 1: talking like stuff is busted on it, Like there's a 338 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:47,920 Speaker 1: mirror hanging from the side, like on the car that 339 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 1: got taken out by like a telephone pole. Fast food 340 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:52,760 Speaker 1: rappers spilling out onto the sidewalks like they open the door. 341 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 1: That's not a great sign of how they're going to 342 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:58,080 Speaker 1: take care of your property. So it's all these non 343 00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 1: verbal sort of cus of well that goes into this 344 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 1: stage where you're scheduling showings and meeting folks in person. 345 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 1: So already we've talked about tenant screening, right, and we've 346 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:09,440 Speaker 1: said that there are two ways that you could have 347 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:13,360 Speaker 1: already screened really well, right just in your listing, your 348 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 1: pre screening people by the requirements you list out, and 349 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:19,440 Speaker 1: then you're screening via email and in person as you're 350 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:22,200 Speaker 1: getting to know these perspective tenants. That meant that first 351 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,679 Speaker 1: initial pre screening, the next step that you're going to 352 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,119 Speaker 1: want to enact when it comes to tenant screening is 353 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 1: an initial application, and so that application is where potential 354 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:36,719 Speaker 1: tenants fill out their personal information, basic stuff, and what 355 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:40,720 Speaker 1: we're interested in here is their tenant history, right the 356 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,600 Speaker 1: previous five years of rental history with landlord names and 357 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:47,960 Speaker 1: contact information. And I'll tell you what, Matt, I feel 358 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:51,880 Speaker 1: like this is probably the easiest way to be able 359 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:55,080 Speaker 1: to identify a poor tenant. If you can call and 360 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:57,960 Speaker 1: ask their previous landlord, you know, did they pay rent 361 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,439 Speaker 1: on time? Would you rent to them again? This is 362 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 1: one of the most important indicators that will help you 363 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,399 Speaker 1: note whether or not this is a reliable tenant that 364 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:08,200 Speaker 1: you're gonna want to leash your property to. Yeah. Man. 365 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:10,920 Speaker 1: In my book, this is pretty much the number one 366 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: thing that I kind of go off of is if 367 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:15,680 Speaker 1: they have been great tenants in the past. I'm even 368 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:18,919 Speaker 1: willing to take applicants that have a worst credit score 369 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:21,439 Speaker 1: or that might have a lot of debt. But you 370 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:24,679 Speaker 1: know what, if their past several years of tenant history 371 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:26,680 Speaker 1: and I'm if I'm able to talk to their landlords 372 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,400 Speaker 1: and they always pay no matter what, man, that sets 373 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,360 Speaker 1: an incredible track record for them. That tells me that 374 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:35,640 Speaker 1: you know what, even though they might not have their 375 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,240 Speaker 1: financial game in tip top shape when it comes to 376 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:40,960 Speaker 1: their credit score or man, they just spend a lot 377 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:42,399 Speaker 1: of money and they've got a lot of debt, that 378 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 1: still tells me that, well, they still make rent payments 379 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: a priority and there's just a lot to be learned 380 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 1: from previous landlords that they have rented from in the past. Yeah. 381 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:55,879 Speaker 1: Another important checkmark on the list of that initial application 382 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:58,040 Speaker 1: that you're gonna want a perspective tenant to fill out 383 00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 1: is their employment information. In particular, it's best to speak 384 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: with their direct supervisor if at all possible, or if 385 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:06,399 Speaker 1: they work for a bigger company, you might need to 386 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:09,439 Speaker 1: settle for talking to someone in HR, but that conversation 387 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 1: or email exchange with their supervisor can be really beneficial. 388 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 1: You can get little clues from how their supervisor talks 389 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:21,600 Speaker 1: about them or you know, whether they give a glowing 390 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:25,840 Speaker 1: review quickly or um, whether they're very brief in their responses. 391 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,000 Speaker 1: And I know that that's helped me make decisions. Um 392 00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:33,480 Speaker 1: Us they work here, I believe they come in the 393 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 1: door sometimes. That's all I can say. Yeah, so you 394 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 1: do get a lot from that email exchange. UM and 395 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:42,240 Speaker 1: It's worth noting that you should do all of these 396 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,040 Speaker 1: things because you might not get a great picture from 397 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:48,080 Speaker 1: just doing one, but all of these things combined, you know, 398 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:50,640 Speaker 1: our pieces of the puzzle that put together the entire 399 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,239 Speaker 1: picture of whether this person is going to be a 400 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,200 Speaker 1: good tenant or a bad one, and some other things 401 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:57,200 Speaker 1: that you can have on that initial application. Obviously, you 402 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: want to have their signature on there. That way you 403 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 1: can verify that the thing that they say are true 404 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,200 Speaker 1: by you know, giving their previous landlords or their bosses 405 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 1: a call. And other info on there as well could 406 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: be helpful when it comes to make a decision, but 407 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 1: doesn't carry as much weight, things like their current rent 408 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:14,679 Speaker 1: or while they're moving. Things like that, it's helpful to 409 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,520 Speaker 1: have that information on there. Uh, just kind of creates 410 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 1: a more robust picture of of who they are. It's 411 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:23,239 Speaker 1: also worth mentioning to that this initial application can be 412 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 1: as simple as just a piece of paper, just a 413 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:29,479 Speaker 1: form that you created in a word document where the 414 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 1: applicant just fills out the information. This isn't something that's 415 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:34,479 Speaker 1: super fancy. You can have a few printed out on 416 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:37,400 Speaker 1: hand there while you're showing the property, but that makes 417 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:39,679 Speaker 1: it super easy. But man, lately I've just been like 418 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:41,359 Speaker 1: texting it, Like when folks show up and just say, 419 00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:43,399 Speaker 1: all right, what's your number? And I just texted to 420 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 1: them or email it to them, and folks were able 421 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:47,720 Speaker 1: to print it out either at work or at home 422 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,040 Speaker 1: or just fill it out digitally. It's just so easy 423 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:52,399 Speaker 1: now to to do that by a smartphone and just 424 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 1: sign it with their finger and get their signature on 425 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:56,600 Speaker 1: there and boom like you're you're all set, You're gonna go. 426 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,879 Speaker 1: And so that's the initial application, which again can be 427 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,119 Speaker 1: easy as paper. The next thing you want to do 428 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,320 Speaker 1: with that is to start making the calls. You start 429 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:08,640 Speaker 1: following up and figuring out if these folks are who 430 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,040 Speaker 1: they say they are. Yeah, Matt, So, I think there's 431 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:14,159 Speaker 1: a lot of flexibility and how exactly you want to 432 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:18,280 Speaker 1: handle that application. Like you said, you could just literally 433 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:20,959 Speaker 1: send an email with four questions and have them respond 434 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,640 Speaker 1: to them. But I think there's something about an official 435 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 1: form that feels a little more legitimate um and makes 436 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:29,680 Speaker 1: it feel like they are jumping through a hoop right 437 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,160 Speaker 1: in order to bring your property, and you want that right. 438 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 1: You want someone to jump through a hoop or two 439 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,320 Speaker 1: in order to feel like they have done the work 440 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:42,359 Speaker 1: to be worthy of living in your house. Um, I 441 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:44,480 Speaker 1: don't know. I think there's something to be said for that. Yeah, 442 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:46,159 Speaker 1: you want to make sure you're approaching it from a 443 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:49,080 Speaker 1: professional you know. Standpoint, When I when I mentioned texting 444 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 1: or emailing, I meant like sending the actual PDF of 445 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 1: the form, because I don't like printing out a bunch 446 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 1: of paper and then just end up throwing it in 447 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,679 Speaker 1: the trash if nobody takes an application. Sure, but it 448 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: is totally easy to email or text or send that 449 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:06,280 Speaker 1: PDF and then have them send it back on their 450 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 1: own time. And again, timeliness, Right, how long does it 451 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:11,680 Speaker 1: take them to fill that out and get it back 452 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 1: to you? In a perfect world, it's a it's a 453 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:16,520 Speaker 1: few short hours for someone that is truly interested in 454 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: running your place. But the timeliness in which they respond, 455 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,159 Speaker 1: how they respond, the level, the thoroughness to which the 456 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 1: former is filled out, those are all kind of many indicators. 457 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: And then the next indicator is making those phone calls, 458 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:30,880 Speaker 1: sending those emails, talking with the current, previous and previous 459 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,919 Speaker 1: landlords as well as their boss. Right, And this is 460 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: the easiest step to get sloppy with you see that 461 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:38,840 Speaker 1: they filled out that they are currently employed, and you 462 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,040 Speaker 1: just decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. Right, 463 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:43,920 Speaker 1: But you can gain the most insight into a potential 464 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,399 Speaker 1: applicant when you take action on this step and you 465 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:50,000 Speaker 1: choose to do the digging, do the hard work of 466 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:52,919 Speaker 1: actually sending the emails, making those uncomfortable phone calls. I'm 467 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 1: not gonna lie mat Like when I dial up the 468 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,679 Speaker 1: phone to talk to someone like a previous landlord or 469 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,720 Speaker 1: the boss, I feel a little weird, Like I feel 470 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,440 Speaker 1: like I'm digging into someone's private life, but like going 471 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:06,200 Speaker 1: through someone's drawers a little bit where it's like, oh man, 472 00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:08,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna have to like tread through this and figure 473 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:11,880 Speaker 1: out what's been going on exactly. It's super weird. It's 474 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,920 Speaker 1: a little weird. It's like you're a counselor Yeah, like 475 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:16,680 Speaker 1: I feel like I know a little too much about 476 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:19,400 Speaker 1: this person, but yeah, exactly. But also I know that 477 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:22,160 Speaker 1: it is one of my biggest investments in life, right 478 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,199 Speaker 1: is are these homes that I've purchased in order to 479 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:27,959 Speaker 1: give people good places to live, and and that's the 480 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 1: only way that I can make sure that I'm running 481 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,640 Speaker 1: out two good people, so I have to do it. 482 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,160 Speaker 1: It feels really weird, But I would say I think 483 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:38,679 Speaker 1: that's probably the biggest reason people avoid taking the action 484 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,640 Speaker 1: on these steps because it does feel weird, it's awkward, 485 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:43,560 Speaker 1: but you have to do it in order to make 486 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 1: sure that you're covering you know, your own backside. That's right, man, 487 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 1: you gotta do it. The step takes the most manual work, 488 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 1: Like you said, making those calls or I would also 489 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:54,159 Speaker 1: totally recommend to make the calls and not just do 490 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: the email because I feel like there's something else about 491 00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:59,480 Speaker 1: hearing somebody talking on the other end of the line, 492 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:01,480 Speaker 1: Like if you're talking into a previous langlord and you 493 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,160 Speaker 1: asked them the question would you rent to this person again? 494 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,080 Speaker 1: And they if they without hesitation to say yes, absolutely, 495 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:09,639 Speaker 1: they've been awesome. That's a lot different than someone that 496 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,960 Speaker 1: pauses for five seconds, well, I don't know, and then 497 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,720 Speaker 1: they say yes, yeah, I would rent to them again 498 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,000 Speaker 1: because if they hesitate, there, you know, that's uh, that's 499 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: an indicator, that's a red flag, and you might want 500 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,119 Speaker 1: to make sure that you are doing the proper amount 501 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:28,720 Speaker 1: of vetting. When it comes to screening, that tenant, and 502 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,879 Speaker 1: so after the break we'll share how to run a 503 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:34,200 Speaker 1: credit and background check on a tenant. The good news 504 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:36,919 Speaker 1: is that this just takes a few clicks on the 505 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:49,600 Speaker 1: computer and usually it's free to you. Yeah, all right, Joe, 506 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:51,960 Speaker 1: we're back. And before the break, we were just talking 507 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,760 Speaker 1: about how the initial application is the first and best 508 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 1: way to make sure that you've got a great applicant 509 00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: on hand. And you're gonna do all all of that. 510 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: You're gonna make those phone calls to their previous landlords 511 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,320 Speaker 1: to verify their employment, talk to their bosses. You're gonna 512 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:08,240 Speaker 1: do all that before you do this next stage that 513 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:10,320 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about. And I feel like at 514 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,639 Speaker 1: this point, you know, not all the puzzle pieces are 515 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:16,320 Speaker 1: put together, but you've got a pretty good idea picture 516 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:19,119 Speaker 1: of what's formulating right of, like what's coming together. And 517 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:22,520 Speaker 1: so you know, Okay, this person seems like they're on 518 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:24,159 Speaker 1: the up and up, and I'm ready to jump to 519 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:26,160 Speaker 1: this next step. But I think a lot of people 520 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:29,639 Speaker 1: in the screening process, they will skip all the stuff 521 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: we just mentioned and they will jump directly to this step. 522 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,920 Speaker 1: And that's where a lot of people screw up ultimately, 523 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 1: and and maybe they check out on this criminal and 524 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:41,199 Speaker 1: credit background check that we're about to talk about. But 525 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:43,600 Speaker 1: if they don't check out on those levels above, then 526 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:45,359 Speaker 1: you could still be in for a nightmare. So you 527 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,320 Speaker 1: really really do want to piece all these things together. Yeah, man, 528 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:50,359 Speaker 1: we didn't mention this previously, But one of the reasons 529 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:54,000 Speaker 1: why I love taking care of the initial application first 530 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:56,280 Speaker 1: and making those calls is that it's free. It does 531 00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:58,240 Speaker 1: require the most sort of manual labor where you're having 532 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:00,439 Speaker 1: to make the phone calls, but it doesn't cost you 533 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:02,639 Speaker 1: anything except for a little bit of time talking to 534 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:04,800 Speaker 1: someone on the phone, and it doesn't cost the applicant 535 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:07,920 Speaker 1: any money either. That's something that some landlords choose to 536 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 1: do where they take the application fee regardless of the 537 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:13,560 Speaker 1: order that they choose to process the applicant. And a 538 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:15,160 Speaker 1: lot of times what that means is the first thing 539 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,680 Speaker 1: that they do is they do the tenants screening, is 540 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:20,240 Speaker 1: that they do the credit report and the criminal background check, 541 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:22,680 Speaker 1: which does cost money. It costs somebody money, whether it's 542 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:26,439 Speaker 1: the landlords or typically it's the applicants. But what's the 543 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: sense and having an applicant jump through those hoops and 544 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 1: pay money when you know that a quick phone call 545 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:35,320 Speaker 1: to a previous landlord would have easily told you, yeah, 546 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:37,200 Speaker 1: you don't need to rent to these people. Yeah. And 547 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:39,600 Speaker 1: I feel like, honestly that the fact that I'm not 548 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:42,400 Speaker 1: handling any money directly in regards to an application fee 549 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:45,119 Speaker 1: builds a lot of trust between that potential tenant and I. 550 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:48,439 Speaker 1: So let's talk about the next step, Matt. It is 551 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 1: getting a credit report and running a criminal background check 552 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: on someone. Um, the great thing is, I'm not charging 553 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:56,520 Speaker 1: an application fee, like you said, right, I'm doing all 554 00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: this stuff. It is manual labor on my part, but 555 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:02,119 Speaker 1: I am not charging the potential tenant any sort of 556 00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:03,840 Speaker 1: feat in order to do that. And there are a 557 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,160 Speaker 1: few services that can handle this for you and be 558 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 1: essentially that middleman between landlord and tenant. And the one 559 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:12,920 Speaker 1: that Matt and I are partial to we've been using 560 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:15,920 Speaker 1: for years is one called my smart move dot com 561 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 1: and it's run by one of the three major credit bureaus, 562 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:21,840 Speaker 1: trans Union. As a landlord, it's super easy to create 563 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:25,720 Speaker 1: an account. You enter your applicants email address, the site 564 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:29,200 Speaker 1: sends them a notification where they can securely enter their 565 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,719 Speaker 1: personal information, including their Social Security number as well as 566 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:35,959 Speaker 1: the payment information, so they pay for it directly, and 567 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 1: that's kind of what I love about this. It's a 568 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:42,000 Speaker 1: beautiful thing. I'm not handling any sensitive information of any 569 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,000 Speaker 1: of these people right already said it feels a little 570 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:46,200 Speaker 1: awkward that I'm calling to talk to their boss or 571 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:48,399 Speaker 1: their previous landlords, but at least I don't have to 572 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,440 Speaker 1: ask for their social Security number and credit card information. 573 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 1: I'd rather not handle that information as well, in addition 574 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 1: to talk to their past So it's so nice that 575 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,520 Speaker 1: they're entering it into a third party website and then 576 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:02,119 Speaker 1: that third party website spits the results back out to 577 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:04,639 Speaker 1: me in email form. So that's kind of what I 578 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:07,280 Speaker 1: love about handling it this way. It feels so much 579 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:09,920 Speaker 1: less awkward, and at the same time, I'm getting all 580 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:12,200 Speaker 1: the information that I need to get. That's right, man. 581 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,080 Speaker 1: So my smart move dot com is that site. Another 582 00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:18,119 Speaker 1: one that's real similar to that is landlord Station. I 583 00:28:18,119 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 1: haven't personally used that, but I did some research on 584 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,480 Speaker 1: there and it's set up a lot like my smart Move. 585 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:25,200 Speaker 1: There's some other sites out there as well, like Cozy 586 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,840 Speaker 1: dot co and that's uh c o z y dot 587 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:32,119 Speaker 1: c o and those sites are a little more robust. 588 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:36,000 Speaker 1: The service that they offer also includes free management software 589 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:38,360 Speaker 1: with with a portal for collecting rent. It makes it 590 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: super easy, especially if you have a lot of properties. 591 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:42,800 Speaker 1: It's a great way to automate a lot of your 592 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,800 Speaker 1: business if you are a full time landlord. So check 593 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:50,280 Speaker 1: out cozy dot co or even another side as well, Buildium, 594 00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:53,719 Speaker 1: and they also offer similar services where it's dude. Essentially, 595 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 1: it's like a one stop shop where if you don't 596 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:58,320 Speaker 1: want to interact with your tenants at all, use these 597 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 1: sites which are great for a lot of reasons. And yeah, yeah, 598 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:04,680 Speaker 1: when you're running a business, you want things to be efficient, 599 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:06,760 Speaker 1: you want things to be standardized, and and that's how 600 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:08,480 Speaker 1: you do it. Yeah, and that way, you know you're 601 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,440 Speaker 1: not dealing directly with tenants via text message at all 602 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:14,080 Speaker 1: hours of the night, right like they're sending something to 603 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:16,920 Speaker 1: this specific website in order to report their problem. But 604 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,120 Speaker 1: we digress, I guess because ultimately the thing that we're 605 00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:22,960 Speaker 1: talking about in today's episode is the easiest way to 606 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:26,080 Speaker 1: screen a tenant. And so hopefully we're simplifying these steps, 607 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:29,720 Speaker 1: letting you know the exact stages of screening, and it's 608 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:32,480 Speaker 1: actually much easier than it appears. Um, it takes a 609 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:34,760 Speaker 1: little more time than just typing an email into a 610 00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:38,400 Speaker 1: website or just making one phone call, right, but doing 611 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:42,080 Speaker 1: your due diligence on the front end can save you hundreds, 612 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 1: maybe thousands of dollars in eviction fees in dealing with 613 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:47,800 Speaker 1: a tenant that is just subpar, right that it's just 614 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:50,120 Speaker 1: hard to deal with. And this my smart Move. The 615 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,640 Speaker 1: reason I love my smart Move site as kind of 616 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 1: that last final step in tenant screening is because at 617 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,200 Speaker 1: the very end my smart Move really in their l 618 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:02,840 Speaker 1: that they send to the landlord pretty much gives you 619 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,920 Speaker 1: a green, yellow, or red light and they say, all right, 620 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,360 Speaker 1: this tenant is green. It's good to go. It's clear 621 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: you should accept this person. And based on all the 622 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 1: other screening steps that you've done, you say, boom, that 623 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:16,479 Speaker 1: last green light. That's all I need. And if it's yellow, 624 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:18,680 Speaker 1: there are steps you can take to mitigate your risk. 625 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,680 Speaker 1: Let's say it's yellow because their credit score is a 626 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:24,400 Speaker 1: little bit lower than you can say, you know what, 627 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:26,840 Speaker 1: all these other steps that I've gone through make this 628 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 1: tenant seem pretty trustworthy, and so I'm gonna go with 629 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 1: them anyway. I'm just going to require a larger security 630 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:35,160 Speaker 1: deposit just to cover myself a little bit more. But 631 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:37,920 Speaker 1: I just kind of love that system, and man, that's great. 632 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:41,080 Speaker 1: We're gonna at risk. Another way, too, is with students, right, Like, 633 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: if you have a student that doesn't hardly make anything 634 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:45,920 Speaker 1: and they're trying to get a place, if you go 635 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,320 Speaker 1: through these steps, that can be really difficult for them 636 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:51,400 Speaker 1: to seem qualified, even though they might have a parent 637 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:54,720 Speaker 1: who's an attorney. It makes bank. Uh. And so there's 638 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:57,400 Speaker 1: certain situations right that might call for a less than 639 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:01,080 Speaker 1: traditional signing of the lease, whether that mean having the 640 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 1: parents sign instead for their student who's in school. Yeah, 641 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:05,760 Speaker 1: that kind of happened to me once. I had a 642 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,080 Speaker 1: college student wanting to rent from my house that I 643 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,480 Speaker 1: was like, there's no way she can afford. But her 644 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,160 Speaker 1: mom ended up coming with her to the showing and 645 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:15,440 Speaker 1: wanted her to live there with a roommate. And it 646 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: ended up being this great scenario where it was essentially 647 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 1: her mom that was the applicant. I ran the mom's credit, 648 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 1: got this security deposit from the mom, and then also 649 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:26,040 Speaker 1: the mom was paying the rent every month. And so 650 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:29,240 Speaker 1: when you're entering into something like that. That's completely fine, right, 651 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:32,240 Speaker 1: that's a way to mitigate risk. Yeah. Ultimately, as a landlord, 652 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:34,000 Speaker 1: like the worst thing you can do is to be 653 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:37,959 Speaker 1: signing a lease with someone that doesn't have the credit history, 654 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:41,360 Speaker 1: the current cash on hand, or the income that qualifies 655 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:43,800 Speaker 1: them to ring your place. Yeah. Man, even though we're 656 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,600 Speaker 1: in Atlanta, we actually don't have a ton of students, 657 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 1: and I think in some cities where it is like 658 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:51,680 Speaker 1: heavily college town, that's got to be something that that 659 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:53,560 Speaker 1: folks deal with more. It seems like could just be 660 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:57,360 Speaker 1: an extra headache, Yeah for sure. Yeah, So in the end, 661 00:31:57,440 --> 00:31:59,120 Speaker 1: it comes down to how you want to spend your 662 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:00,800 Speaker 1: time and your money. You know, we we've we've touched 663 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:03,520 Speaker 1: on this, But in the end, you can spend a 664 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:06,440 Speaker 1: little bit of your time and almost no money now 665 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:09,080 Speaker 1: while you're screening. Just make sure you're kind of making 666 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:10,960 Speaker 1: those calls and doing a little bit of that work now, 667 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:13,680 Speaker 1: or you can spend a ton of time and a 668 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:16,400 Speaker 1: lot lot more money later on when it's time to 669 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:21,160 Speaker 1: evict somebody. I would choose the former every single time. Yeah, 670 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:23,480 Speaker 1: you might get lucky and you might find a good 671 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:26,280 Speaker 1: tenant without doing any of this work, right, but that's 672 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:29,920 Speaker 1: also kind of playing a game of Russian roulette, and 673 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:31,720 Speaker 1: at some point you're gonna get burned by having a 674 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:34,080 Speaker 1: bad tenant. I will say that this has pretty much 675 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,560 Speaker 1: been a foolproof plan for me in finding good tenants. 676 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:40,200 Speaker 1: And even when you're doing this right, you're gonna have 677 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,280 Speaker 1: headaches as a landlord. Even when you're screening tenants well, 678 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,360 Speaker 1: even when you're getting people that are qualified that do 679 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,960 Speaker 1: pay rent on time, you're gonna have headaches. Sometimes that 680 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:52,760 Speaker 1: great tenant is going to pay late, and sometimes they're 681 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:55,360 Speaker 1: gonna be a thorn in your side asking for small 682 00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:58,960 Speaker 1: ridiculous repairs, you know, on a way to consistent basis. 683 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:02,200 Speaker 1: But following the uh stages of screening process that we've 684 00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:07,000 Speaker 1: laid out here is going to prevent of the problems 685 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,360 Speaker 1: that you might encounter as a landlord with crumby tenants. 686 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:12,880 Speaker 1: And so we would say follow these to a t 687 00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:16,120 Speaker 1: and things will go well for you as a landlord. 688 00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:20,240 Speaker 1: Nice man, quick little episode on real estate and screening tenants. 689 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:24,200 Speaker 1: One of my favorite topics any any day of the week, 690 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:27,000 Speaker 1: Like I get super excited to talk about real estate. 691 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:29,280 Speaker 1: And the guy I mentioned earlier in the episode, Tim 692 00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:32,360 Speaker 1: I met him at the three year old birthday party. So, 693 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:34,280 Speaker 1: and he's got seven properties that kind of gets you 694 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:36,800 Speaker 1: fired up, right, dude. I love talking with him about 695 00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:40,200 Speaker 1: it because every landlord kind of has their own personal experience, 696 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:43,320 Speaker 1: has their own parts of town that they love working in, 697 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:45,640 Speaker 1: has their own kind of story for how they got 698 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 1: into it's just fun to kind of have those stories 699 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,200 Speaker 1: and to talk about it. And then also you hear 700 00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:52,360 Speaker 1: from kind of the beats that other people will have 701 00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:55,480 Speaker 1: experienced in doing the landlord game. And you know what, 702 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:57,400 Speaker 1: no matter how long you've been a landlord for it, 703 00:33:57,440 --> 00:33:59,520 Speaker 1: you're gonna have a beat or two right to share. 704 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:02,320 Speaker 1: And said the learning experiences that happen along the way. 705 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:04,680 Speaker 1: I think it's just good for us to share with 706 00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 1: each other as landlords, and it's good for us to 707 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:08,520 Speaker 1: listen to the two people that are maybe a little 708 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,200 Speaker 1: bit further on down the path than we are, because man, 709 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:13,719 Speaker 1: there's always more that we can learn about being a 710 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:17,359 Speaker 1: good landlord, about investing in properties well to do well 711 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:20,200 Speaker 1: for our families, and wealth building over the long run. Yeah, man, 712 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:21,759 Speaker 1: that's true. And I love what you said too about 713 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:24,040 Speaker 1: learning from other other folks that are kind of further 714 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:25,759 Speaker 1: down the path. All right, let's talk about the beer. 715 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:29,719 Speaker 1: We had Matt variants again. This was raspberry Johnny Kashmir. 716 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:32,400 Speaker 1: Is it supposed to be like Johnny Cash? So Kashmir 717 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:35,520 Speaker 1: is a type of hop Johnny Kashmir. It must be, 718 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:38,000 Speaker 1: It must be. But Kashmir it's like a thing. It's 719 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:42,759 Speaker 1: like a velvety, smooth Kashmir. True, right, yep. And it 720 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:46,560 Speaker 1: was honestly kind of a velvety beer. There were what 721 00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:50,439 Speaker 1: three different kind of fruits involved. And the interesting thing is, uh, 722 00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:54,959 Speaker 1: it was what raspberry, raspberry, iguava and passion fruit. And 723 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,719 Speaker 1: the funny thing is what did you taste? What I 724 00:34:57,760 --> 00:34:59,919 Speaker 1: tasted the most was great fruit and that's not even 725 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:02,319 Speaker 1: one of the listed fruits. I don't know why. It 726 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:04,680 Speaker 1: was a really really really good beer, but I tasted 727 00:35:04,719 --> 00:35:06,319 Speaker 1: a lot of great fruit in it. You're not gonna lie. 728 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:08,480 Speaker 1: Maybe that's just the combo of those three fruits. They 729 00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:11,680 Speaker 1: taste like great fruits. Their powers combined equals great fruit, 730 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:13,319 Speaker 1: I guess. So the poored to I mean it poored 731 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:16,239 Speaker 1: a really pretty kind of ruby, great fruit color, a 732 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:18,360 Speaker 1: lot of fruit on the nose, so really heavy in 733 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:20,600 Speaker 1: the fruit. If you're not huge and I p a s. 734 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:23,439 Speaker 1: But you love fruit. I would say check this out. 735 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:26,000 Speaker 1: If you're local and in the Atlanta area, you can 736 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:29,520 Speaker 1: get these guys. Yeah, because Variant doesn't distribute their beers. 737 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:31,600 Speaker 1: And you went up to the brewery recently, you picked 738 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:35,400 Speaker 1: up this crowler of Johnny cash Mere th two ounces. 739 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:37,040 Speaker 1: You know, I each get a point and that was 740 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:39,359 Speaker 1: like lovely man. I now I definitely want to make 741 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,880 Speaker 1: the trek up outside of town to check out Variant 742 00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:45,680 Speaker 1: because kind ahead otp because it was a really good beer, 743 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 1: and I want to try more other stuff. So you 744 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:50,799 Speaker 1: want to hear a funny story. Yeah, we swung by 745 00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 1: there after. A couple of weeks ago, I took a 746 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,400 Speaker 1: friday off in me and Kate and the girls. We 747 00:35:56,440 --> 00:35:59,920 Speaker 1: went hiking and swung by the brewery afterwards, which is perfect, right, 748 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:01,440 Speaker 1: beautiful day. You want to go hiking and then you 749 00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:05,319 Speaker 1: want to go drink beer. Well, Kate was wrapping up 750 00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:07,080 Speaker 1: with the girls and before we got back in the car, 751 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:11,240 Speaker 1: took him to the bathroom and she had her sunglasses clipped, 752 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:12,759 Speaker 1: you know, like you kind of fold them over and 753 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:15,920 Speaker 1: hook him on your shirt. And we've got young girls one, 754 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:17,320 Speaker 1: three and five. But she had the three in the 755 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:20,040 Speaker 1: five year old in the bathroom and she was bending 756 00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:22,040 Speaker 1: over to kind of help them out get off the 757 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:25,839 Speaker 1: toilet glasses in the toilet glasses fell into the into 758 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:28,680 Speaker 1: the toilet, and the girls were freaking out. They're like, 759 00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:32,520 Speaker 1: nor glasses, mom, and the Kate was like staying calm 760 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:34,440 Speaker 1: and she's like, it's okay, I got this, I got this. 761 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:36,960 Speaker 1: And so she went and grabbed some toilet paper to 762 00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:40,040 Speaker 1: kind of make a little glove sort of doesn't work 763 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:41,840 Speaker 1: in the water. Yeah, it doesn't really work, but she 764 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:43,319 Speaker 1: I don't know, it's just what she had in her mind. 765 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:46,200 Speaker 1: And when she stepped away to grab toilet paper to 766 00:36:46,239 --> 00:36:48,680 Speaker 1: be able to grab it, it had the automatic sensor 767 00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:52,920 Speaker 1: flush and it flushed her sunglasses down the toilet, and 768 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:56,080 Speaker 1: our girls freaked out even more, and Evvy, our oldest, 769 00:36:56,120 --> 00:37:01,759 Speaker 1: started screaming, but it's bad for the world, which is 770 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:04,480 Speaker 1: like the funniest thing ever. She just kept saying, it's 771 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:06,719 Speaker 1: bad for the world for those sunglasses that to go 772 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:09,480 Speaker 1: down that toilet. So those glasses are gone. They're not man, Yeah, 773 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:11,680 Speaker 1: they're totally gone, and they're like New Zealand now or something. 774 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:13,920 Speaker 1: That's just how I assume the plumbing works here. I 775 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:16,200 Speaker 1: felt terrible, and so when I was buying the Crawler, 776 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:19,239 Speaker 1: I was like, Hey, by the way, I just want 777 00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:21,279 Speaker 1: to let you know that my wife accidentally flushed her 778 00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:24,720 Speaker 1: sunglasses down the toilet and there might be a problem 779 00:37:24,719 --> 00:37:26,480 Speaker 1: with that last ball. I'm just giving your heads up. 780 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:30,080 Speaker 1: I'm out of here at piece, never to be seen again, 781 00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:32,040 Speaker 1: never to be seen. I did tell her after I 782 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:33,640 Speaker 1: got my Crawler, because I was just like, I want 783 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:36,719 Speaker 1: to make that quick getaway. That's awesome, and I love 784 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:40,200 Speaker 1: Eavy's reaction. That's so heavy. Yeah, alright, Joel, it's time 785 00:37:40,239 --> 00:37:42,640 Speaker 1: for our final thoughts again. The reason that we're talking 786 00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:46,360 Speaker 1: about screen tenants is that this can be very tempting 787 00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:49,239 Speaker 1: step to skip when it comes to getting a new 788 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:50,799 Speaker 1: tenant in your place, and it can cost you a 789 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:53,960 Speaker 1: ton of money if you have to evict your tenants. Yeah, man, 790 00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:56,720 Speaker 1: in all likelihood, it's going to be a huge headache 791 00:37:56,800 --> 00:37:59,200 Speaker 1: and it's also going to cost you thousands of dollars. 792 00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:02,000 Speaker 1: And we can't promise that you're definitely going to avoid 793 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:05,680 Speaker 1: leasing your place to a subpar tenant, but we do 794 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:08,440 Speaker 1: think that if you will stick to the stages of screening, 795 00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:10,840 Speaker 1: that we lay out, you're going to amplify the chances 796 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:13,000 Speaker 1: of finding someone that is going to treat your home 797 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:16,120 Speaker 1: well and pay rent on time. So the first stage 798 00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:19,960 Speaker 1: of screening pre screening. Make sure that you have specific 799 00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:23,960 Speaker 1: requirements in your listing, things like your credit score or 800 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,600 Speaker 1: your income requirements. Those things allow your tenants to essentially 801 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,759 Speaker 1: pre screen themselves and they won't be wasting their time 802 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:34,080 Speaker 1: or yours. And then schedule showings. You'll learn a lot 803 00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:36,520 Speaker 1: by emailing back and forth to set up that appointment, 804 00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:39,239 Speaker 1: and then you'll also learn a lot in person when 805 00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:41,440 Speaker 1: they show up, or if they don't show up and 806 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:44,960 Speaker 1: they don't tell you anything exactly right, communication or lack 807 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,960 Speaker 1: thereof when it comes to that initial showing of the 808 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:51,520 Speaker 1: property will be a huge tip off whether you're dealing 809 00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:55,000 Speaker 1: with someone who is responsible and will be a good 810 00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:57,640 Speaker 1: tenant for the long haul in your place or not. 811 00:38:58,120 --> 00:38:59,840 Speaker 1: So the next step. If they like the place, the 812 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:01,640 Speaker 1: next thing you want to do is get them an 813 00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:04,080 Speaker 1: initial application, and this is where they can fill out 814 00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:07,320 Speaker 1: that personal information, just the basic stuff like tenant history, 815 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:10,279 Speaker 1: employment information. You want to make sure they have a 816 00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:12,920 Speaker 1: signature on there as well. That way you can verify 817 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:17,640 Speaker 1: the information with their previous landlords or their place of employment. Yeah, 818 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:19,880 Speaker 1: and then make the phone calls, send the emails, do 819 00:39:20,160 --> 00:39:23,400 Speaker 1: your due diligence. It's really easy to skip those steps, 820 00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:25,640 Speaker 1: but those are the most crucial parts of this whole 821 00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:28,040 Speaker 1: process in order to make sure that you are gaining 822 00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:31,600 Speaker 1: the most insight into that applicant. You know, verifying their 823 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:35,880 Speaker 1: employment and good standing with previous landlords is insanely important. Yeah, 824 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:38,719 Speaker 1: it cannot be overstated, man. And then the final step, 825 00:39:38,719 --> 00:39:40,919 Speaker 1: and once all that checks out, is to run their 826 00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:44,320 Speaker 1: actual credit report and their criminal background check. My smart 827 00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:46,920 Speaker 1: move dot com is a great site to run something 828 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:49,560 Speaker 1: like that. You don't have to deal with handling your 829 00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:53,160 Speaker 1: applicants social Security number or accept payment. It all goes 830 00:39:53,239 --> 00:39:55,839 Speaker 1: through that website, so be sure to check them out. Yeah. 831 00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:58,080 Speaker 1: The nice thing is you're not handling any money in 832 00:39:58,120 --> 00:40:00,920 Speaker 1: this exchange, and Mike smart Move is doing all the 833 00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:03,320 Speaker 1: heavy lifting for you. But don't skip straight to that step. 834 00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:05,600 Speaker 1: You're gonna want to follow all of these stages of 835 00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:08,680 Speaker 1: screening in order to find the best tenant. Yeah, man, 836 00:40:08,719 --> 00:40:11,640 Speaker 1: that's right, So thank you folks for listening. Our home 837 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:15,279 Speaker 1: on the web is how to money dot com. We'll 838 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:17,439 Speaker 1: have our show notes up there for you, where we'll 839 00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:19,680 Speaker 1: have a list of the sites where you can run 840 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:23,759 Speaker 1: the credit report and criminal background checks on your applicants. Yeah, 841 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:26,120 Speaker 1: and if you like this episode, well there's a lot 842 00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:28,600 Speaker 1: more out there for you to listen to, So check 843 00:40:28,600 --> 00:40:32,360 Speaker 1: out our backlog of episodes wherever you listen to podcasts, 844 00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:35,480 Speaker 1: and don't forget to hit the subscribe button until next time. Man, 845 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:37,520 Speaker 1: Best Friends Out, Best Friends Out,