It’s not that I’m a liar, but if you are calling about a crappy tenant that somehow snuck through my screening and I want to get rid of, my tenant references may not be complete.
If you don’t ask the right questions, I may not supply all the information.
As an example you may ask if they pay the rent on time. My response, “Yes, yes they do.”, but I didn’t mention they have been smoking and have three dogs in my non smoking no pet property…
It’s not that I want to lie to you, but I want them out and if I tell you everything without getting asked, they may never leave.
If you ask me the right questions, I will give you the answers, but you have to ask as I may not volunteer it!
Plus, never mind the legal ramifications if they try to sue me later for sabotaging their escape from me! So unless you ask, I’m not even sure I can legally tell you!
How’s that for a justification…
I’m Not Alone
So while you can’t trust my tenant references, the same can be said for the other landlords you might call as well.
If you don’t ask, “Would you rent to them again?” you might never hear the words “HELL NO!”.
Granted even if you do ask if the tenant is horrible many landlords would sugar coat it just to avoid answering and to pass the problem on to someone else.
It’s a self preservation thing.
That’s why you need a list of questions to ask the applicants current landlord.
Questions like:
- Do they always pay on time?
- Are they getting evicted?
- Did they give your proper notice about moving?
- Would you rent to them again?
- Were they good tenants?
Having questions like these at the ready can help you avoid getting stuck with someone else’s problem. But it’s also not your only step to do that.
Tenant References Are Not All Equal
The reality is the current landlord is not going to be the best reference, they still have skin in the game. In fact the tenant may be great and the landlord could be crap and trying to sabotage them moving, you just don’t know!
That’s why this is just part of the entire screening process. But an important part!
Great questions to ask. It’s best to start with the basics (verifying their info and lease dates, etc.) and then move on to specific questions. “Did they ever violate the lease?” is another good question to ask. Any ‘yes’ can be followed up on to get the details. Beware of non-answers to specific questions! The landlord can’t or won’t say what he’s really thinking.
Bill, I would caution landlords to be careful about ANY information they share with another landlord. If you are dealing with bad tenants all that needs to be said is “I can verify the dates of their tenancy” without saying anything else. A smart prospective landlord should be able to read between the lines and realize that all is not as it might seem on its face. In today’s litigious society it would be wise to limit potential liability from both the bad tenant and another landlord. Just my 2 cents!
Good point Mark, although if you can verify everything you say it should protect you as long as it’s not libellous!
Bill
I would still maintain that the best way to limit liability is not to have any to start with. If you get sued the total costs of time aggravation and legal cost to defend yourself against a frivolous lawsuit can be enormous. Factor those “real costs” into the equation and you will quickly realize that even if you win the suit you’ve still suffered.