One of the most common problems a Landlord faces is late or cancelled appointments or no-shows. This is why the my most important test of a potential tenant is, “Are they on time for an appointment?”
Why?
Because someone that does not value people’s time will not value getting their rent paid on time.
I can tell you this advice after placing over a hundred tenants. This screening method works 90% to 100% of the time.
The first time I figured this out was with a student that I placed. She kept rescheduling or just not showing up for showings. And when she showed up she was in such a rush that I had no time to screen her with typical questions (this should have been my first clue of a potential problem).
She ended up renting a place and again was postponing getting the deposit to me. She figured her time was worth more than mine and I should be running around the city to collect this. The upshot is she was late on EVERY payment and I had to attend the property an average of three times to collect. And to top it off, she cut her lease 4 months early.
Lesson: Be on time for all showings. If you are going to be late, CALL! Value a Landlord’s time as you would value your own.
Landlord Advice: I call to confirm appointments. I will wait 15 minutes for a potential tenant at which time I will call them. If they forgot about the appointment, are not reachable or are running more than 10 more minutes, I CANCEL and will not show them anymore property. Each appointment can cost as much as $50 to arrange and I am not in the habit of throwing time and money away! Neither should you.
Why?
Because someone that does not value people’s time will not value getting their rent paid on time.
I can tell you this advice after placing over a hundred tenants. This screening method works 90% to 100% of the time.
The first time I figured this out was with a student that I placed. She kept rescheduling or just not showing up for showings. And when she showed up she was in such a rush that I had no time to screen her with typical questions (this should have been my first clue of a potential problem).
She ended up renting a place and again was postponing getting the deposit to me. She figured her time was worth more than mine and I should be running around the city to collect this. The upshot is she was late on EVERY payment and I had to attend the property an average of three times to collect. And to top it off, she cut her lease 4 months early.
Lesson: Be on time for all showings. If you are going to be late, CALL! Value a Landlord’s time as you would value your own.
Landlord Advice: I call to confirm appointments. I will wait 15 minutes for a potential tenant at which time I will call them. If they forgot about the appointment, are not reachable or are running more than 10 more minutes, I CANCEL and will not show them anymore property. Each appointment can cost as much as $50 to arrange and I am not in the habit of throwing time and money away! Neither should you.
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