How To Find & Qualify Great Tenant Buyers - Part 2
Sep 25, 2021editors note - this series is from a video I did on our Youtube channel, you can check out the full-length video here
In part two of our series, I want to share a couple of stories... See in part one I unpacked some things that those of you with experience may be going through... Yeah Yeah. So to help illustrate some of them and to help you think of things in a bit of a different way I'll give you some examples.
"Maybe you can think of things from a different angle with some stories"
I had this one couple, oh my goodness! I'll just leave it at that but I needed to do what I could ethically, morally, and legally to get these people out. Lucky for me, they wanted to move (for different reasons) as well. Two months later I got a call from some lady whom I'd never met before and she asked "are you, Cam?" I said yeah. She said "I inherited some of your old tenants, here are my problems" And I just thought to myself, yup those are the same things that happened to me! - See she never called me before this couple moved in though, she could have avoided the problem.
"Remember; The previous Landlord has nothing to lose by talking to you and you have everything to gain!"
Now over the years and learning from my mistakes has made me a bit wiser. What do I mean? - well sometimes you'll get potential tenants who give you false names and numbers of current and past landlords. They may be friends or family members kind of thing, you know. So what I'll do is; I'll throw in a trick question that only a real landlord would know. For example, if they are coming from a place where I am fairly confident pets are not allowed I may throw in something like, man you must have loved their dog it's so cute, what's the dogs name again? - Now this is a silly example but it has worked for me in the past.
"What trick question can you throw in"
You want to make sure you're asking open-ended questions where people have to think about it. Not just simple yes or no questions. That way if there is a long pause or some other indication that you may not be talking to a true landlord, it should stick out in the call.
"BIG RED FLAG"
Now, if you're showing a property to a potential tenant or talking with them on the phone and they start complaining about their current landlord, that is a huge red flag. Granted not everyone is perfect but if they have some sort of beef with their landlord there is a 99% chance they will complain to you and about you. In the past, I've placed tenants in a Rent To Own Home where they had complained about their previous landlord and sure enough, before long they are complaining about me and to me. And now I've got a squeaky wheel in one of my properties. So watch out for complainers when you're doing your due diligence.
"You don't want to have to give the squeaky wheel any grease"
The next piece I work on in the process and on my sheet is their references, some people call them character references. Now I know most of us on resumes and things like that we always try and give friends, obviously, so they will give us a glowing review BUT when I'm doing my due diligence on tenants or tenant-buyers I don't want friends or family members who for obvious reasons are going to be biased.
"No friends or family here!"
I want to talk to people they've worked with or people they've volunteered with or better yet their current and previous neighbors. This can give you a great picture. BUT don't go talking to these people unsolicited.
"co-workers, people they've volunteered with or neighbors make the best references."
THIS IS THE END OF PART 2 - STAY TUNED FOR PART 3. IN THE MEANTIME CHECK OUT THE FACEBOOK GROUP (CLICK HERE) AND ASK QUESTIONS, GET INVOLVED.
In the next segment, I'll get into some more nuts and bolts of the due diligence process. See you next time!
Cam Rowland is a business owner and real estate investor from Winnipeg Canada. He purchased his first investment property in 2006 after reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. In 2010 he shifted focus to Rent to Own. As a result, he was able to grow his real estate portfolio, grow his cash flow and quit his day job! After 100's of successful deals, Cam started coaching others to do the same and now offers a 6-week coaching program. If you're an action taker and want results like Cam, check out this Free Case Study. (click the button below)
