Evictions can be the most stressful part of rental property management. They may also be the most costly. It is wise for a landlord to consider the options, and adopt an eviction strategy:
File Notice Right Away
The stories may be sad, but it is best not to listen.
Trying to be nice to tenants who are in trouble can sometimes force a landlord to be victimized by unscrupulous tenants. Once the tenant has broken the lease, a landlord should immediately file the legal notice to quit. It may take weeks for an eviction to proceed through the courts, and the landlord will be losing money the entire time. Any amnesty granted to a bad tenant may only delay the inevitable, and increase the landlord’s losses. Landlording is, after all, a business.
Cash for Keys Compromise
Evictions are costly, especially if the tenant fights back and prolongs the proceedings. In contested cases, there is no guarantee that the court will grant the landlord a judgment for the entire amount they 
are seeking. A tenant may claim, for instance, that the landlord was slow to make necessary repairs, and the court may reduce the landlord’s past due rent judgment accordingly.
A landlord also suffers the lingering fear that the tenant will retaliate and damage the rental property while they remain in possession.
Another strategy is to avoid the eviction proceeding by working out a compromise with the tenant to terminate the lease and turn the property back over. Although controversial, some property managers routinely utilize this “cash for keys” remedy to avoid court fees they may never recover. Five hundred dollars in return for the tenant’s peaceful exit may seem offensive, but it may also be the least expensive of your options.
Screen Tenants Thoroughly
No one understands how critical tenant background checks are more than a landlord who has faced having to evict tenants. Often, the landlord is left with unpaid rent and damage to the rental property. Imagine turning your tenant over to collection only to find that the social security number they supplied is false, and can’t be traced.
Humans are creatures of habit, and if a tenant has caused problems in the past, they are likely to repeat the pattern. The trick with tenant screening is to look for discrepancies amongst the various reports. A tenant credit check is not enough. Also review criminal background reports, as well as eviction reports. You just may catch a repeat offender before they move into your rental property.
This post is provided by Tenant Verification Services, Inc., helping landlords reduce the risks of renting with fraud prevention tools that include Tenant Screening, Tenant Background Checks, (U.S. and Canada), as well as Criminal Background Checks, and Eviction Reports (U.S. only).
Click Here to Receive Landlord Credit Reports.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this post in not intended to be construed as legal advice, nor should it be considered a substitute for obtaining individual legal counsel or consulting your local, state, federal or provincial tenancy laws.
