Credit report
 

We have a few rental units (anybody want to buy them?). Our most recent problem is a young couple who have decided not to pay rent anymore. We have started the eviction process and if history repeats itself, we should have them out of there in a relatively short time. My question is: Is a landlord able to affect a renter's credit status? If so, how does one go about this process? It occurred to me that once these leeches are evicted, that they will probably continue to ply their evil ways on the rest of society. It would be nice to have some input into their financial future.:mad::mad:

Thanks,
Tom

Yes. Go to MrLandlord.com. Register for their credit check service, and have the company make a collections report on your tenant's credit. Or, if you are already running credit checks on potential tenants, your existing credit report company should be able to help you with a collections letter.
City or County should also be keeping evictions records, so your tenant's behavior will be public record. Are you checking those records before renting to a tenant?
There's not many more satisfying experiences as a landlord than getting a phone call from another landlord who's checking the credentials of a potential tenant and she asks you if you did indeed evict tenant X.

Be very careful in making negative credit reports. This is becoming one of the biggest growth areas of mass tort litigation. Call it the new Fen Phen if you will.

I hope it's not my sister :eek: Kidding, she and her boyfriend are in Chicago and pretty good tenants from what I understand.

I'm surprised the eviction process is relatively short. In CT it's fairly difficult and drawn out. My grandfather had a tenant who rented a cottage from him for about 10 years or so on Coventry Lake. He decided that for the last 2 years he wasn't going to pay any rent. Or dispose of any garbage. Or do any of the pre-arranged maintenance. And complain about every little thing that needed repair.

I'm not up on the rental laws, but I think my grandfather had to wait six months before he could start the eviction proceedings and had to go through several promise-to-pay periods. IIRC it was over a year before he was finally evicted.

I am hoping to pick up a couple 2-3 family houses in the area over the next few years despite everyone's horror stories ;)

Kerry Edwards--
Thanks for your nuts and bolts answer to my question. I will definitely check into your resources.

JohnDoe and PaulC-thanks for your legal take on my question. What do you guys suggest doing in lieu of making a bad credit report and yet have some effect on these tenants' future?

Tom

SwampYankee,

Good luck on your future landlording. I can only say that has been a cross to bear for us. There is always something to deal with on rental property. I like to compare rental property to adopting another family. This family is completely dysfunctional, has absolutely no fiscal knowledge or responsibility and will lie until you are so worn out that just want to walk away.

Tom

I send EVERYONE who owes me to collections which automatically stains their credit reports. Now, a consumer CAN challenge this. If he does, then the credit reporting agencies will contact me and I never fail to send them the documentations showing that they are deliquent so the stain REMAINS on their credit reports. If I were you, I would do EXACTLY the same thing and keep records in a very safe place. DON't PUT UP WITH NON-PAYING PEOPLE. I feel sorry for NO ONE when it comes to my family's well-being. BE RUTHLESS!

I'm not saying don't do it, but go to Kerry's landlord website and maybe a consumer credit protection website and make damn sure you have a legitimate basis for making the report. Don't just report somebody for being evicted unless you are sure it is an appropriate circumstance.

When I had rentals, if I had to do an eviction, I was generally only out for one month at most because I kept the deposit of a full months rent and would have them out usually before thirty days so I would just sue them in SCC I think I didn't get paid once out of four trips.

Like wild fire. Less than a year ago or even six months I could not find an attorney to litigate CR and Debt issues for my clients, I now get several solicitation calls a week.

When my wife was in college her checkbook was stolen. The thief (as they often do) went straight to Wal Mart and wrote some checks, the last of which bounced because she stopped payment. Wal mart sent a nasty gram. Her father (who owns the bank) put together a document package from the bank including the security tape from Wal Mart and Wal mart said ok, we are satisfied. Five years later my wife found herself in the unfortunate position of having to go to a Sam's Club. She wrote a check and they wouldn't take it. Reason--Wal Mart had black-balled her in their system. A credit check then revealed that they had turned it into all three credit reporting agencies. Cost 'em $16K for dat.

Thanks, Tom. I have no illusions of it being easy in any sense and would definitely be treating it as a business. Are your properties local to you? Urban or suburban? I'm hoping to pick up one or two here in my town, essentially suburbia. There are lots of professional types who work in Hartford but don't want the hassles of homeownership or condo life. Every now and then a multi-family pops up that needs updating or a facelift. That's what I'm looking for.

Headaches aside, has it been a worthwhile investment?

SwampYankee,

Our properties are in a middle class, small town. The properties have modestly increased in value, but this is not San Diego or Fort Lauderdale. Real estate values just keep plugging away at around 2-4% increase annually, although in the last year I believe that the soft market even hit here and consequently the values may have decreased slightly. Right now, I am probably not a good person to ask about rental properties and their value.
As I stated before, I think that the person best-suited for landlording is a parental type who is ready to adopt a family or families, who cannot think for themselves, who have no concept of finances, and who live month to month or even day to day. I have discovered my inner self by owning these rentals, ie. I am way too anal retentive to do it and that a sense of responsibility is not shared by a lot of other fellow humans. Whew! I hope my rant helped you, it certainly helped me.:)

Tom

I think you'll be ok with reporting to a credit bureau, etc., if you reveal in the rental application that that's what you intend to do if there is a problem. Get the applicant to sign off on the credit check advisory. And always get legal counsel. It's usually cheaper up front than trying to pay a lawyer to fix something after the fact.

I know people who do rather well with them. Its like anything some people love it, some hate it. I find in our area 3-4 unit properties tend to cashflow pretty well, and thats as big as you can go without a commercial loan.

I am looking to purchase one or two next year as well.

It seems the "trick" if you will, is to buy enough of them that you can afford to hire a property manager; before you get tired of managing them.

Managing them is the easy part. Try and do repairs and maintenance on them yourself. Not a big deal if you have one or two. Any more and it becomes a second job.

Want to contract out the maintenance and repair? The cash flow won't stomach that for very long.............