What professions tend to spell trouble to you? For me, it is painters. Unless they listed a painting COMPANY they actually worked for as an employee - but so far 100% of the time they don't, they just call themselves painters because it sounds better than "no job."

Also, sadly, home health care workers. They tend to be uneducated and often dishonest. Just had one claim she "takes care of dimentia patientsts." Yes that is how she spelled it.

People who deliver elderly care in home take care of a very vulnerable population. Many cannot survive the temptation. In 2014, when I started a new job at the VA, my mother had a big nose bleed and was bedbound for a few days. I asked my handyman of 3 years to look in on her as I did not want to miss work in my first week. He stole any medicine he thought could get him off from her and he crawled through my dog door to get me too.

I doesn't really work by professions.

Long ago, when I was starting out, I had a tenant and wife. He had his PhD from UCLA in mathematics, worked at TRW Space Park, was recommended by people that I personally knew at TRW.

I cannot believe how filthy they were in 1 yesr. When I notified him that I wasn't planning to renew the lease, he took early retirement from TRW, left his wife and went back to japan, taking all the family assets with him. I had to evict her, she went to the Century Plaza Hotel in Beverly Hills on his credit card before he found out.

So, here is a guy who is highly educated and basically honest, at least until his basic interests were threatened.

Yes, home health workers.

Landscapers

Uber drivers

Bartenders

People on the rv manafacture line. Make crazy good money... Then three weeks off.

Definitely home health sitters or home health care. These are definitely a different class of people. Best to nail everything down.

My places are C type places so my Tenants are not the high earners that can pay $1200+ a month. My average rents are in the range of $500-650. Due to the demographics of my area, we have a large percentage that make $10-$18 per hour. The second largest group are on welfare / disability and make less. Retirees without pensions, basically on social security and a bit of savings, if they do not already own their home are looking in that $600 range, maybe a bit more if there are two of them in the same house. Those who can pay more buy their places mostly (at least around here).

I think our success is improved when we adapt to our market.

In mine, it's the $10-18 per hour workers and the retirees.

There's little sense getting units for 70K plus, much less 200-300K+.

I still have to screen them well. There are bad people at every level.

To answer the question my worst generally are the ones with throw away jobs --- gas stations, fast food, retail clerks, etc. Especially if they are 30+ years old.

Yard mowers who call themselves landscapers typically struggle through the winter months.

Sometimes I find a "professional tradesman" working for a contractor. Many workers haven't the knowledge, expertise or capital to have their own company. An example, a painter. This guy knows how to day anything. He can take a dump and make it look like the Queens Castle. But he drinks. Been in jail a few times and knows nothing about running a business.

So I hired him many times. A friend, Susan, wanted to have her apartment building painted by a real tradesman and have it look like a million bucks. So I explained how to work with a guy like this. You pay him by day, based on the hours he works. Not the same rate for 5 hours as if he's there for the a full 8 hour shift. Materials. He can give you a list and you can shop around and make the purchase, confirming that this is for your job and not for another job.

This was all well and good, except after Susan spent an hour going over the job and how to handle this "painter", she handed off the project to her husband -- thinking she did her part.

The entire job was going to be $7,000 and take 2 months. After two weeks the husband gave the painter $5,000 and he never returned, thinking he has made his profit why work anymore for this client.

The wife was mad at her husband for paying him 60% of the job when he did only 20% of the work. I told the wife it was her fault, I explained how to work with an irresponsible tradesman... She agreed. They had to hire a licensed painting contractor and paid $10,000 more to get the job done.

I have a little concern about labeling any type of work as ‘bad.’ We’re all landlords on this forum, yet, we know we run the gamut of personalities.

Busy I wasn't labeling per se, but saying "my experience has been..." with certain professions.

If I ran across someone from those now-suspect professions that checked out, then I would rent to them.

1. Lawyers

MY state and local discrimination laws do NOT itemize SOURCE OF INCOME so we decline

-Attorneys, paralegals, anyone working in an atty office

-Law Enforcement

-Self employed, SSI, disability - must be garnishable

-Waiter/waitress because tips are not garnishable

Brad -

Can you expand on why declining these professions?

Brad -

Can you expand on why declining these professions?

strippers...FUNNY! guess no one wants their rent in a wad of $1 dollar bills that need to be sanitized before touching? me, i have a more christian attitude toward the hard working working girls and strippers can ALWAYS make rent with a few more shifts or an expanded menu of 'services'. buzzards gotta eat.

my no-fly list isn't really trade specific as much as type of person specific. i always start with the credit report and the application for signs of "dirt-baggery" and their willingness to stiff socially crucial folks like doctors and landlords. anyone on disability needs to have a leg missing or be a veteran and have been on disability income for years. anyone with a "service animal" better be blind or a veteran with nasty PTSD twitch. Folks that move a lot are no-fly, folks that have had cars repo'd, folks with emergency room balances older than 12 months, folks with 2-3 cell phone companies after them for a few hundred bucks, folks with collections from veterinarians...they are a;ll no-fly. the credit report is the first stop and it's the litmus test for the next step.

ANYONE THAT LIES ON THE APPLICATION GETS A POLITE REMINDER THAT LYING IS BAD...especially in the modern day where there really are few secrets.

LAWYERS are NEVER ever considered. i learned in my roofing company that they like to mark up my contracts. their self-importance requires them to whiz on everything they see and demand a revision. it's always a pleasure to advise that the contract was not a 'draft'...IT'S THE FINAL AND EXACTLY ZERO ITEMS ON IT ARE NEGOTIABLE. they can't help it...it's like a labrador after a ball.

like others here i don't deal with property managers and real estate sales types. they should live in a house they own...if not they're crummy earners.

i have learned that cops are poor tenants UNLESS they are over 50, MARRIED to their first and only wife (who they don't beat) and have NO chip on their shoulder

the good ones rise to the top, but the roaches are usually easy to find with experience

I don't have enough houses or experience to say but it is definitely interesting reading everyone's response.

With some of the long list on here, which I understand, I have to wonder how long it takes to find a tenant.

Brad, it is funny that you know and talk to a lot of people in the legal field but would not rent to anyone in the field.

Can't wait to see what Sid and Myob have to say.

I agree with Brad +

- we don't rent to dirty people, only clean and responsible people with valid photo may apply

- Must prove and verify income

- we Do not rent if their current address is less than 1 year

Good posts. Watch out for those without steady work, those with part time work or piecemeal work, on call work, and those with attitudes that do not match a responsible respectful demeanor.

Watch for people who claim to work for a large company, but are really on some temporary labor force contract for that company.

The posts above represent the professions the landlords have personally had issues with and have been bitten! Seeing these in writing...... I have to smile! Been there , done that.

I had trouble with chefs. Rented to them twice and both times had "science experiments" in the refrigerator and filthy living conditions. I bought a foreclosure owned by restaurant owners/chefs that needed total rehab.

Not only do I shy away from renting to people in general, the fact that they are tenants to begin with is a HUGE red flag and being they want one of my places is almost an instant disqualifier!

All Real Estate is local, NE, including acceptable professions. If I didn't rent to waitresses, bar tenders and other service workers, I wouldn't have any tenants!

Man, you guys are tough.

NE, good one. I was wondering myself if there was anyone left.

We once had a gal who claimed to be a Christian. Left a newly remodeled unit filthy in just six months. Also owed us back rent. That was early on in our career. If anyone claims to be a Christian upon our first meeting, they are automatically disqualified in our book.

We once had a gal who was a professional house cleaner (LOL). Place was filthy in six months. Guess she was too worn out when she got home to take care of the place.

Finally, shy away from preachers in any capacity. Had one recently that was "helping" someone down on their luck; gave our property manager a check (which we normally do not accept) for the Application Fee. Turned out the account the check as written on was closed. However, the tenant he "helped" has turned out pretty good.

We had a stressful situation when Trump shut down the government TWICE and both of our SFH tenants have government jobs. I'm not sure if I would put myself in that situation again. But both our tenants are absolute dream tenants and they did an excellent job of getting their rent paid.

Food industry

Bartenders

Anyone working under the table

Self employed

roofers

painters

self employed contractors

barbers

housekeeping

Landscapers

Fast food

Srippers

bouncers

Mechanics

Hairdressers

Anyone who collects tips

Fisherman

Law students

Paralegals

Lawyers

Addict counselors

Babysitters

Home aid health workers

People getting paid to take care of their relatives

Preachers

WI house, for me it's CNA or nursing asistants/home health care aids. That profession attracts the dredges of society IMHO. 20 years and I have met only 3 I would let touch a member of my family. It's so scarry locally that I am considering going back to school so when my parents need one I can legally be theirs.