why you only working 29 hrs a week?

how many hrs do you work a week at that second job?

Lets see your W2-- why all this garnishment?

Lastly-- your year to date on check looks low?

I thought about adding two open end questions to my application to assess this.

1) What was your worst experience in a rental? Why?

2) What was your best experience in a rental? Why?

Were you laid off because of COVID and if so for how long.

Do a google search for Behaviorial Interviewing and you will see questions similar to GKarl's. I used them extensively when I worked a 9-5, it's very revealing. The only addition I would make to his question would be to phrase it where they have to give the details on what happened and then their reaction to the problem. Something like: Think of a time you struggled working with your landlord. Tell me what happened and how you handled the situation.

Behavioral scientists have done extensive studies where you ask someone to share a memory in detail. People are really bad at making up a story on the fly, they get conflicted with the true memory in a conversation so you usually get a pretty accurate representation of how they perceived a problem and how they handled it. In essence, they are so focused on remembering and recanting the story that they don't have enough mental capacity to sway it to what they think you want to hear.

I ask the current and prior landlord.

Was the tenant easy to work with? Did they complain a lot? Were they cooperative about repairs? Was rent on time? Did they leave damage? Was the pet any problem? Did anyone smoke?

You can also call the police to see if there were any police calls to their address.

I don't do any lock box showings and I am a friendly chatter. After a couple of minutes, most applicants will reveal all sorts of things about themselves that they really shouldn't, but they can't shut up when they have an interested audience. Bad tenants also love to complain about how everything is their landlord's fault.

If they bring their kids to a showing the kids don't know what they should not say and they are a rich vein of information.

The folks who do the lock box showing miss that screening opportunity.

I have open-ended questions like GKarl's on my pre-screen form.

"Have you ever been evicted or asked to leave a rental?" "If yes, why? Tell us about it."

"Any criminal history? If yes, tell us about it."

"Are you current on rent? If not, why not?"

Etc.