It is rare that I ever get calls from local LL's asking for 'tenant information' concerning one of my tenants who has filled out a rental application with them. Just in the last week, I received a phone call from a local LL in regards to one of my tenants who wants to move in to a bigger house than the small 2/1 I rent to him.

My question here is this: When you receive phone calls from local LL's asking for 'inside information' on whether or not they should rent to your tenant,...what do you tell them? Are you open and honest with them and answer any question they may have?

Do you want him to move?

If I don't like the tenant, I answer only the questions asked, I don't offer extra information. I don't lie, though, so if they ask the right questions, they will get the info they need.

For instance, a REAL problem tenant (years ago!) was moving. Prospective landlord called and asked me questions about his dog, his kid, the condition of the property: all good. She never asked me whether they paid the rent, or whether he was otherwise a problem (he was, a HUGE PITA and very threatening, in-your-face kind of guy. To everyone, not just us.)

Whether on the incoming tenant or outgoing tenant side, I'll only ask or answer quantifiable questions.

"How much is his monthly rent?"

"How long has he been with you?"

"How many times has he been late during that time period?"

"How are his dogs?" (if it's someone who claims to be pet-free)

"Would you rent to him again?"

I've only had a few call about tenants.

I tell them the truth. If the tenants have been deadbeats in terms of paying rent on time, I say so.

I keep records of when tenants pay so if a tenant came back to complain I have all this documented.

The LL that called me has 25 rental houses and 2 partners (trio) in business with him and I know enough about him to know he is a legit business minded LL. (I offered to meet him for lunch sometime and discuss business and he said "just tell me when and where'.

I had a LL call me about an existing tenant - a good one - who had not informed me he was moving yet! So yes, I informed the LL of that, because I was so surprised. He was moving to another city with his GF. When she called, I did tell he was an excellent tenant but that he was breaking his lease with me to move, with no notice. That didn't seem to bother her at all!

here are the questions I ask via email/fax

1. Has tenant ever been late on rent? If yes, list how many times and last late payment?

2. How does tenant currently deliver rent?

3. Has there been any trouble caused by or related to xyz during his/her tenancy?

4. What have been the last four complaints from tenant? Please provide details of what was the issue and how was it resolved?

5. How would you describe his relationship with the management team, if any?

6. How would you describe xyz as a tenant overall?

7. Did tenant provide a lease termination notice? How many days is required and how many days notice was provided?

8. Have you done regular maintenance check on the apartment? If yes, what were last 3-4 issues raised and how were they addressed?

9. Was a deposit collected at beginning of lease? If so, how much? How much is expected to be returned, if any? What deductions do you already see from regular checks?

If he's got that much experience, he should know the questions to ask-- you shouldn't feed him information he doesn't ask for. "Breaking the 1 year lease" is a fact; "Will probably stiff me on the ELT fee" is an opinion. It might be an opinion grounded in truth and experience, but until he does it, it's still an opinion. :) "Would you rent to him again?" is a good catch-all question that gives the other party the chance to put some extra information in that I didn't ask for--- your answer being, "I might have considered it, but if he's willing to not honor his year-long lease by breaking it after x months, I think I'd pass on him."

Deanna (TX)

I agree with every word you just said. And I am considering doing only MTM leases also. In AL, we can garnish but it is a major uphill battle that I do not have time to deal with.

Yesterday, I called the LL who called me last week. I asked him "have you made a decision on my tenant yet?" His reply was "Yep, I collected a deposit from him today." My reply was "I guess that explains why my tenant has not paid December rent'.

If your ll friend is smart, he'll know that someone who's willing to break a lease, not pay current month's rent, and move with zero notice to Landlord A will be equally willing to do the same thing to Landlord B at the first moment the tenant perceives opportunity or gain from doing so.

If your LL friend is smart, he would realize that himself and think "Is this the best I can do...?"

If I call seeking information, naturally I hope they will volunteer a lot of facts. So I try to consider treating them as I wish to be treated. But volunteering info can be risky.

Safest is to tell them you will verify, or not, the info the applicant has given them. Your response could take the form: "That does match my records", "that does not match my records".

I never do verbal rental references.

Fax or email the reference form with a signed release. I had a tenant throw a hissy fit because I gave them a "bad reference" & threaten to sue me because they didn't get the property. After forwarding a copy of the reference form to them and asking them what constituted the poor referral, what did they hope to gain by suing me??

I required signed release stating I can discuss their info...from everyone. The key is to treat all applicants/tenants the same.

However, I do have a list of large area LL's that either make my life difficult when I am trying to get a reference,and I return the favor. If they demand faxes and won't accept an email with attachment, I will demand emails from them. When they say they can't do that and need to send a fax, I response, "Sorry we don't have a fax machine. Consider joining the 21st Century."

I also have one LL agency in town that will only supply a rent ledger and won't answer any of my questions beyond that. Likewise, when they call me for a reference, I only send them a payment history. What's good for the goose... (wink)

I've had to re-tool my "Would you rent to them again?" question because every agency in town responds, "If they qualified." Which basically tells me nothing. A person who is being evicted today could qualify in 5 years. So here's what I ask now:

"Based on your and your company's experience with this tenant, what concerns would you have if they were to apply to rent from you again within the next 12 months from today?"

Roy,

We seldom if ever get requests from other landlords. Some will tell us they ASSUMED the applicant was OK since we approved them three years ago.

When a LL complains to is about someone they accepted I ask “Didn’t you check the court records? Didn’t you see the mess when you did the IN Home Visit? At least a drive by??!

We require the release and stick to basic facts. We do not answer all their questions such as the OPINION would we rent to them again.

I recently attended a seminar by Mike Butler where he recommended only providing their move in date and move out date to avoid lawsuits and possible trouble with fair housing laws. And only with a written signed release by the applicant. Step #1: Protect yourself.

We all know that renters and their free attorneys love to sue landlords.

It’s the casual comments the get a LL sued!! So keepa u mouth shut!

I think that the golden rule should apply here.

I will answer the questions asked.....they have to ask good questions to get good information.

All I am really willing to say is that they did pay their rent or they did not. But I can say it in a way that will generate another question. I have only had to do this after tenants have already left. The first one who paid his rent was a drunk and a voyeur who used a long mirror on a pole to spy on other tenants. The LL caller asked me if I would rent to him again and I said emphatically NO.

WOW! Some of you need to C.Y.A. because of potential lawsuits.

Julie of KS was spot on by 1st getting the written approval from the landlord before you tell them the basic information. Check fair housing laws as well it may be worth it, again C.Y.A.

PLUS as a landlord you have no clue whose on the other end of the phone. You could be getting tested as well. Landlords C.Y.A....

Until you get a signed release from the landlord say zip node nothing.

IF the landlord is a mom and pop and they have no signed release then you say nothing.

It's funny landlords that are getting potential tenants from Brad20K are not calling Brad20k because they THINK this tenant is ok due to renting from Brad20K. Good Luck to the new Landlord that has that mindset. Tenants can and do go bad so best of success to the Landlord who does not call but assumes this tenant will be the best thing since sliced bread.

Phone Interview, you weed out many with you must complete rental app and pay app fee;

Showing Interview, you can pick up on questions you ask potential tenant;

Complete Application and pay application fee. this can weed out many problem tenants. Incomplete app and/or several charge offs, collection accts, delinquent accts;

Present home visit and/or drive-bys;

Call present water company and/or sewage authority; lienable to property;

The best part of a potential tenant that has bad credit thinks at the showing they can sweet talk you into renting to them because they show up and tell you how nice they are... AND how they will take care of the place... OR they give you a sob story on how bad the present landlord is to them...

Roy, if you called me about a tenant, I'd talk to you as long as you wanted and tell you more than you needed to know.I don't care, I have the time.Besides I tell the truth,so no one can come back and sue me.you can't sue someone for being honest.

Roy, if you called me about a tenant, I'd talk to you as long as you wanted and tell you more than you needed to know.I don't care, I have the time.Besides I tell the truth,so no one can come back and sue me.you can't sue someone for being honest.

Roy, if you called me about a tenant, I'd talk to you as long as you wanted and tell you more than you needed to know.I don't care, I have the time.Besides I tell the truth,so no one can come back and sue me.you can't sue someone for being honest.

Roy, if you called me about a tenant, I'd talk to you as long as you wanted and tell you more than you needed to know.I don't care, I have the time.Besides I tell the truth,so no one can come back and sue me.you can't sue someone for being honest.

Charlie,

The only calls I get for references are for my good tenants and I am happy to give them a good reference. I guess the bad tenants have tricked someone into accepting a buddy pretending to be their landlord.

I figure if I ever get a call about a bad tenant I'd just say that I'd sure hate to say anything bad about anybody unless I had a copy of their signed permission authorizing me to give information about them.

"should be" "common sense" "truth" are NOT always legal.

It's a shame.

It's tough for casual LLs to learn and understand that as a housing professional we are held to the standards set by the federal govt, not common sense or golden rule.

I don't get many calls. When I do, I have them email (or, if they are not in the 21st century, fax) their questions and a signed release. I can only think of 2 tenants that I have had to do this for, neither had given notice and that was noted on the reference form. I believe both still got the places they were applying for.

I think I had a call once for a tenant I was evicting, but the landlord did not answer my return call. I planned to request the authorization form from them and then have an unrelated conversation about our online court records system.

I release information that is factual. How long? How Much? Late? Damage? Facts. I don't say pita. drunkard. druggy. or any other non provable subjective comments. This is all written up in my lease as listed below:

I release information that is factual. How long? How Much? Late? Damage? Facts. I don't say pita. drunkard. druggy. or any other non provable subjective comments. This is all written up in my lease as listed below:

I release information that is factual. How long? How Much? Late? Damage? Facts. I don't say pita. drunkard. druggy. or any other non provable subjective comments. This is all written up in my lease as listed below:

All this conversation made me realize that I need a new form.

My application is about to grow to 3 pages - the third one being the document I'll email to former/current LLs. Might as well list the questions I plan to ask. Need to update from this list!

Currently, I want to know:

What name is the current lease under?

In whose name are utilities billed, if known?

What is the current rent and approximate utilities for the current unit?

How many time has the resident paid late, in whole or part, in the last 24 months? Was a late fee paid? How much late fee?

How does the resident usually communicate maintanance issues with management?

Has the resident given proper notice? Does this notice fulfill lease terms?

Now, to decide what else I want to know.

I do not see anything wrong with PRIOR LANDLORD telling the "TRUTH" about a PRIOR TENANT. I feel and believe that every "LEGAL LANDLORD" should know the truth before Renting to that person. We as LANDLORD need to be prepare for the GOOD or the BAD knowing what to expect.

What are you gaining not telling the TRUTH to the hope to be LANDLORD? You aren't LOSING anything, only just ALERTING and WARNING new LANDLORDS to be aware of that person which is a GAIN for the future LANDLORD.

I agree with what was said, "Place yourself into the LANDLORD" hand, wouldn't you want your LANDLORD to tell the TRUTH on you????? Think about it..........It is so SAAAAD.......the world is full of LIARS, UNRELIABLE, Want FREE RENT and feel that LANDLORD doesn't need their money.

Roy and all,

Small suggestion: add a phrase to your application signature block allowing you to check all forms of data and media at any time.

When WE call we love to let them ramble. True LLs tell us waaay more than they should.

ZERO TOLERANCE on lates has made our stats cut and dry. If they are still renting from us, things are good. If they are late we filed eviction and that will show on the public records. We don't have multiple lates during a residency.

Photos: One LL called about a former res who tried to explain away a large judgment on his eviction. "They were slumlords and ripped me off." I told him he can go to the courthouse and see the file (public information) with the move out photos used as court evidence. Again, no OPINIONS, just pointing the LL to the resource for facts.

It depends on how much time I have. Mostly we rely on a good credit backround. If there's time I'll call the former landlord....If there's all sorts of delays like the tenant authorizing the probe and the person I've contacted being reluctant to divulge information, I'll just depend on the Credit Report (which they pay for) figuring that in order to keep good credit, they'll pay their bills and not cause any trouble. I also check their FB page, generally if they have one you can get an idea of them...but Credit History rules.

If there's any problems with Credit or they have no job (student) or a low paying job...We require a co-signer who has to also have their credit history checked...If the future tenant won't do this, we say goodbye....it's too hard to get a deadbeat out in Illinois.

I always call previous landlords for info. I require the landlord previous to the current one on my apps. THAT landlord, who no longer has to deal with them, will tell me the truth. Current landlords are often reticent if they'd like to get rid of a problem. I have the required release (it's part of my application granting permission for info release from anyone) and will send it if I must.

I must be the exception...I've already gotten about 4 calls from other LLs for my ex or soon to be ex-tenants and I have less experience/units than most of you...

We require a copy of release signed by tenant along with a written question form. Just the facts are given that are verifiable with our documents. The only exception is for a really great tenant- we go the extra mile to let a potential new landlord know that we had been very happy with them.

Been in the biz for about 10 years. I have been called 2 times, both times I just told them whether or not I would rent to them again - that is it ‘Yes, I would consider renting to them again” OR “No, I wouldn’t consider renting to them again”. Nothing more.

I have never called a LL, there is enough information requested on my rental app and even more websites that will provide ALL the info you need to make your decision.

I think LLs in for more than a few renters get a sense of a potential renter.

I follow my gut-feeling, AND in my experience... how a renter comes in is how they go out... if they seem desperate or rushed or distracted during the showing or on the phone it is a very good chance they will have a much higher chance of being/acting the same way during their renting time with you.

if the tenant was a good one i will gladly report that...good ones need to be lauded. if they were anything else i advise that i do not have the file handy but do recall they were tenants. afyter that i need a release signed by ALL parties and a current address. if they were the subject of ANY official proceedings i report that the file is available for viewing at the local courthouse.

if the tenant was a good one i will gladly report that...good ones need to be lauded. if they were anything else i advise that i do not have the file handy but do recall they were tenants. afyter that i need a release signed by ALL parties and a current address. if they were the subject of ANY official proceedings i report that the file is available for viewing at the local courthouse.