Yes! It is not a total preventative measure however, it helps.

I want to see how they handle their current rental.

Are there cigarette butts all over the yard.

Does the home smell like smoke or dogs.

Are there extra people or bugs. Especially bugs.yikes! That's an instant expense for ME!

Yes! It is not a total preventative measure however, it helps.

I want to see how they handle their current rental.

Are there cigarette butts all over the yard.

Does the home smell like smoke or dogs.

Are there extra people or bugs. Especially bugs.yikes! That's an instant expense for ME!

Yes! It is not a total preventative measure however, it helps.

I want to see how they handle their current rental.

Are there cigarette butts all over the yard.

Does the home smell like smoke or dogs.

Are there extra people or bugs. Especially bugs.yikes! That's an instant expense for ME!

I have.rejected based on in home visit. In my state, I am not required to state reason for rejecting, so I didn't applicant got pesky, so I marked the phone number as 'do not answer.'

In home visit is a must for me. I tell applicants that 'pick up the application at their house. How they keep the house where they stay now is how they'll keep my house. '

A couple came to rent a one bedroom apartment from me. They also had a child, not an issue. When I gave them the applications, each of the couple couldn't compete their spouse's information. They didn't know birthdays and other simple information. It was obvious they parented the child together but never lived together. The man was going to get the mother of his child a place to live and pay the rent instead of child support. Not at issue had they not lied about this.

So the man went to work and the women and child was left completing forms. I asked the women for her missing California ID card. She said she would walk home, 2 blocks away and return. I said to her that I'll walk with her and save her from walking back.

In her apartment there wasn't a single item that belonged to a male. I told her right then I wasn't going to run her credit and returned her application fee's.

If she has to rely on someone else to pay her rent, she has a part time job that won't even pay the utility bills, I can't rent to someone in that kind of situation.

we did it several times when we were getting at the after the app stage. Each time it helped us dodge a bullet.

It had just made sense to me anyway and did it before we found this site.

I know several on this site are emphatic about it but frankly it just isn't my style. I think about it from a personal perspective. If I were looking to rent a place and they insisted on a home visit to see if I was acceptable my response would be not anything I could print here and I wouldn never consider renting from them.

We do quarterly inspections and what I've found is that many are slobs which is different from damage.

Perhaps if I had C or D properties, which I assume attract a different level of applicants, I might feel differently. Would doing home visits have saved me from some awful tenants? Perhaps. But it is such a small number I just consider it the cost of doing business.

The properties where I've incurred the most damage have been tenants that started out good or even great but a life event such as a job lost or pending divorce then goes downhill from there. It generally starts with the rent slowing down or stopping and I absolutely find a strong correlation...if they aren't paying the rent they aren't taking care of the property.

NC Investor, I can see you point. I wrestled with that before my first applicant showing. But, I have properties in C areas, close to D areas, and I have found the tenants view it as a landlord making sure good tenants are in her property, so she probably takes good care of her places. (Yep. )

I might still do in home visits if I ever had properties in other areas (unlikely). I also might reconsider if I had other than SFH. (Also unlikely.) It will probably NEVER be something I enjoy, as I am not a snoopy person. I still find I have to force myself to do regular inspections, even with long term tenants. I don't like poking around in someone else's space.