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Landlord Newsletter Mid July 2010- Pre-Screen Tenants

The LPA Newsletter
Mid - July 2010

Dear Fellow Landlord,
Do you still face the task of fielding telephone calls from prospective tenants at your home number? Isn't it frustrating talking to caller after caller only to realize most of the callers are not what you are looking for? Do you really want these unknown strangers to have your telephone number and waste countless hours of your valuable time? As we become more educated as landlords, we find better ways to avoid bad situations and protect ourselves from dangerous people, time wasters and unqualified prospects.

In this issue:

  • Article: "The Safest Way to Pre-Screen Tenant Prospects"
  • FREE FORM DOWNLOADS!
  • Ask the Attorney,Real Estate Attorney, John Reno
  • Great Rent Excuses

Please e-mail us if you have any questions or would like to add or share any material / information.
John Nuzzolese
John@theLPA.com


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The Safest Way to Pre-Screen Prospective Tenants

1. FREE LPA Prospect Pre-Screening Card
With HTML Code for your Internet Ad

I recently began using a basic little chart on my internet rental ads that has made quite a difference in setting up appointments. I used to advertise in local newspapers, and spend thousands on rental ads, but websites like Craigslist and The LPA Rentals Available section have been a helpful way to save advertising dollars!

Just imagine receiving e-mails from prospective tenants with the pre-screening information you want before even talking to them. (With Craigslist, the customer doesn't even have to see your real e-mail address or phone number!) Call prospective tenants to set up appointments only if they meet your pre-screening qualifications! It has never been easier. It saves time, advertising money and helps you zero in on the tenant you're looking for...

Click to for your Free HTML code and also Free Download of the printable Prospect Card



2. Tenant-Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet
"It is far better to have no tenant than to have a bad tenant."

I've been asked many times to create a new form to help landlords ask the right questions on the telephone to help determine if the caller is someone you'd like to set an appointment to show your rental to. The LPA's new Tenant-Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet has developed from a simple prospect card into a handy and more complete screening tool for telephone interviews.

Free Download for LPA Newsletter subscribers.

Tenant Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet

Tenant FinderTenant Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet

Have you ever met prospective tenants at your rental property, shown it to them, had them fill out a rental application only to find that they were nowhere near qualified? A simple pre-screening telephone interview can be a major time saver. Why not focus your attention on the most qualified prospects?

Before giving out the address of your rental property and committing your time to a doomed appointment with an unqualified renter, you have a chance to more carefully evaluate which prospects are worth meeting with....

Click for more about the Tenant Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet



3. Tenant-Finder™ Chart
Take the Stress Out of the Decision.
Score Prospects by Their Point Value

Score your Tenant-Finder™ Worksheet to help you evaluate the prospective applicant. Before making an appointment to show your property to an applicant, examine your findings. The LPA Tenant-Finder™ Prospect Qualifying Chart will help you determine a more accurate score for each applicant.

The Tenant-Finder™ Prospect Qualifying Chart helps you break down the evaluation of a rental prospect into five main categories....

More about the Tenant Finder™ Chart



Rental Application form of The Landlord Protection Agency4. When you have completed your Pre-Screening process....
and you feel the tenant has passed your requirements....
and you have shown the property to the tenant....
It is time for...
The LPA Rental Application
The LPA Rental Application has eliminated many tenant problems by helping us to do a better job screening the applicant. Qualified tenants are more than happy to fill out the form and show you how wonderful they are. Find out as much pertinent information on your rental applicants as you can before entering into any lease or rental agreement.


Some of the items contained in this rental application are:

  • Authorization to obtain a copy of tenant's credit report(s) and verify any information given. We need this because it is illegal to pull a credit report without the tenant's written authorization according to the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act).

  • Deposit Not Refundable, unless applicant is rejected. Deposit receipt and rental offer form is included in this rental application. (Applicants may not get their deposit back if they decide to change their mind.)

  • Includes Non-refundable screening fee agreement. The prospective tenant pays a screening fee when the rental application is submitted to you. This fee covers you for the cost of checking references and running credit reports!

    Click for more about The LPA Rental Application



    5. Tenant Screening Credit Report

    Only after successfully verifying the reference information on a complete rental application, should you proceed to ordering a credit report on the tenant. The credit report will confirm a good tenant's payment history and employment as listed with the credit bureaus.

    Click for Credit Reports

    tenant screening credit reports, credit reporting form Experian, TransUnion, Equifax credit bureaus


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    Ask the Attorney

    The Landlord Protection AgencyThe Landlord Protection Agency® is proud to introduce John Reno, Esq., a highly experienced Landlord - Tenant attorney based on Long Island, NY.

    If you have a landlord tenant problem you'd like to ask a question about, please feel free to e-mail me your question.
    Submit a landlord / tenant question for Mr. Reno
    Please try to keep your questions as short and to the point as possible.


    Dear Mr. Reno:
    Hi, I had a property management company managing my property and now I have discontinued their services and I'm managing my own property. It's lease time again and I issued a new lease with a rental increase. My tenants said that I have to give them 30 days notice before I can issue a new lease and rental increase is that true? Thanks
    D., NC

    A: Yes, they are correct. You must give at least 30 days advanced written notice before the 1st day of the new increased rent lease term.

    Dear Mr. Reno:
    One of my tenants in Kansas City, MO started a grease fire in the kitchen, which caused a significant amount of damage to the entire house. What are my rights as to the recovery of damages from the tenant, and what are my duties as to the remainder of the lease term? Thanks!
    Casey, MD

    A: Insurance complicates things. I assume you have fire insurance. You can't collect and still sue. The insurance company can sue the tenant- but they never do. If there's a deficit between your insurance and the actual damages, you could sue, but you'd have to prove your out of pocket repair expenses over and above the insurance pay out.

    Read more from John Reno, Eviction Attorney





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    Great Rent Excuses

    "I expect the last month's rent to be pro-rated because I am leaving mid-month. I'll only give you half the rent." And this after using his security deposit for the previous month! - William P Sestrom

    "I've been out of town. I wasn't even there for half the month." Sorry, but you're old enough to know you still owe the rent. - Ralph, Tustin, CA

    "You know I don't have the money. If you harrass me one more time, I'm leaving." They are behind more than a month. I don't think it is harrassment. I hope they do leave because I'm ready to hire a lawyer. - Angie H., Mission Viejo, CA

    "My indoor marijuana garden got raided by the cops and now I don't have any pot to sell, so i dont have any money for rent." Now i know why the electric bill was so high, plus the cops broke the front door when they served the search warrant. - David L., Kona, Hawaii

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    The LPA's Newest Credit Report Affiliate!

    Quick Check Credit Reports, Inc.

    Quick Check Credit Reports, Inc. is proud to announce its affiliation and partnership with The LPA in helping landlords protect their interests by better screening tenants at lower costs!!

    • NO sign-up or set-up fees,
    • NO membership fees,
    • NO compliance fees
    • Just lower prices!


    Special Tenant Screening Discounts for LPA members. See our price list!



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    FREE LPA Gift with Book Purchase!

    Click here to order Dani Babb's Book,The Accidental Landlord Fellow LPA Member, Dr. Danielle Babb is a national real estate expert and author of the new Landlording Book, "The Accidental Landlord".

    Get your copy now... with a FREE BONUS! from theLPA.com

    Not only is Danielle Babb one of our county's most knowledgable real estate anylists, she also shares excellent landlord information and advice in her book, "The Accidental Landlord". Plus she's a super nice person! - John Nuzzolese



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    CD of landlord forms

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    comes with all 2 - 5+ year LPA Memberships

    Be a more powerful landlord - able to handle just about any landlord / tenant situation in a professional way, saving you time and money.
    ALL FREE with LPA Membership!


    Yes, this offer also applies to LPA membership renewals!
    Having all the forms all on disk is a handy time saving convenience.


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    NEW SITE FEATURE: PICTURES!
    Worth A Thousand Words!

    The LPA's Rental Advertising division,"Landlord's Corner" allows you to include up to 6 pictures (thumbnails and full size pictures) in each rental ad.

    (UNLIMITED FREE ADS come with LPA membership!)

    LPA members: FREE!

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    Electronic Rent Collection

    LPA members have been asking me for a while now about how to set up automated rent payments with their tenants. I'd like to bring your attention to ClearNow, the leader in electronic rent collection. ClearNow enables you to have your rent automatically withdrawn from your tenant's bank accounts and directly deposited into your bank account.

    If you haven't done so already, please check out



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