How far back in time does an eviction have to be in order for you to not mind it too much? Looking to find out what people do in these cases. Is 5 years ago too soon?
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Yes, it is. Evictions usually stay on the credit for seven years. I would go another 3 just to see if you see any positive progress. 10 years I would say.
It would make no difference to me how far back it is.
I would never accept any tenant that has the personality traits required to force a landlord to evict them rather than simply leave voluntarily.
That type of personality will impact all dealings with the tenant …arrogant, self entitled A-hole.
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That’s one way of viewing the situation. Some people are plain irresponsible, it’s true, but others go through tough times. I’m thinking that if 5 years ago, for example, someone got evicted due to the loss of a job, but since then they’ve been able to pick themselves up and been current on their rent, it is worth considering.
At any rate, thank you both for your input!
an eviction would be a def no for me. why should i take a chance on someone that’s not responsible even with a job loss they should have been prepared for it by having savings
You’re going to have a very tough time in this industry
“You’re going to have a very tough time in this industry”
It becomes easier when you set your screening standards and rigidly stick to them.
There are more than enough good tenants that any landlord can pass on applicants that MAY present a higher risk.
I get that, but the reality is that 70% of Americans don’t even have $1,000 in savings. May be a bit difficult to find MHP residents that are planning ahead for a job loss with an amount of savings that can weather them for a few months.
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Same goes for all investors in real estate regarding tenants. Landlords are not in business to lose money and that is why we have screening standards. To protect your investment you must maintain strict standards. We do not operate a charity and must hold tenants accountable or evict. There is only on time that landlords can avoid the possibility of evictions and that is at screening. This means that irresponsible people will have difficulty finding housing.
The fact that so many people are financially incompetent, or simply irresponsible, is why only the most professional of investors will survive in this business.
Not every eviction is because someone didn’t want to pay their rent or couldn’t keep a job. There are the rare occasions where someone is forced out of a home by an unethical landlord. Years ago I gave notice, paid everything, and moved out without any issue. Was a couple years later I found out that the landlord, for some unknown reason, filed an eviction on me after I had moved out the right way. I was never served papers, didn’t even know about it until I tried to rent another home a few years after.
So while probably 95% of evictions are people you wouldn’t want to rent to, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to find out the details and look at their other factors and rental history. If they have 40 years of good rental history and one eviction, they might not be that big of a risk. You can always charge a higher deposit and ask for first and last months rent as well, that way if it comes to an eviction you lower your risk of loosing money.
[quote=“Danwilson, post:10, topic:14356”]
“sometimes it doesn’t hurt to find out the details”
Wasting time and money searching out the 5% hurts your bottom line. Why bother wasting your time for the sake of 5% of tenants. It is not cost effective, simply pass and a landlord that has lower standards will rent to them.
We are not social workers, we make every effort to cost effectively operate a business by selecting the best possible tenant with the lowest possible risk to our business and other tenants. Wasting time and money to try and “fit” applicants into our screening standards does not make scenes.
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And remember that both your selection and eviction criteria have to meet federal and local Fair Housing and Landlord/Tenant requirements. And equally important, you must train your staff to evenly and consistently follow the standards and demonstrate no illegal discrimination tactics, whether overt or less so. This is one of the most active litigation arenas in the country now. Tenant discrimination insurance coverage is a good coverage to have in today’s world.