“Do Not Rent To” Database Helps Landlords Screen Tenants, Avoid Nightmares
By JP Moses on May 29, 2008 in Under The Spotlight
I’ve got a great little spotlight audio interview and a short You Tube video I found that’s hilarious (if you’re a landlord) below. But first, consider this…
They say you never forget “your first time”.
It must be true. I know I won’t forget mine anytime soon.
The first time I was notably stiffed by a tenant, that is.
(What did you think I was talking about anyway 
)
His name was Bryant Finnie…
…and as far as I’m concerned, he FLAT OUT STOLE sixteen hundred bucks from me. In fact, here are the actual numbers…
That’s exactly how it looked when I sent it to the collection agency (who never collected a dime by the way).
I’ll spare you the longer version of my sob story, but suffice it to say that he called me asking for “a little more time”, assuring me he’d have no problem coming up with the money.
I have a soft heart, I admit it. And I was still fairly green as a landlord at the time. So I granted him the grace he asked for, and moreover I really, truly BELIEVED he’d make good on his word.
Classic, right?
So I found myself standing in the living room of Moonfall Way a mere 30 days later, with only a few piles of rubbish to greet me.
Bryant had, of course, skipped out at some point, with no word of where he was going or when I’d ever hear from him about paying what he owed. And as you might guess, I never did.
My first, but definitely not my last…
Any landlord with even a little experience knows well that these stories are unfortunately par for the course, especially for newer landlords.
So this certainly wasn’t the last time something like this has happened to me as a landlord. In fact, I’ve had much bigger losses that hurt a lot worse since then.
But you never forget your first and the “special” place it holds in your heart.
Friends don’t let friends rent to deadbeats
How many times have you wished that you could report a bad tenant to warn other landlords?
Frankly I hate knowing that after Bryant Amy Finnie stiffed me in July 2003, they probably took the same mess with them to another rental property, and became the same pain in th neck for someone else that they were to me. In fact, they’ve probably done it a number of times by now.
And for the “mom and pop” landlord (more often the case than not) it only takes one bad tenant to devastate you financially, or even put you out of business entirely.
So here’s one way to go about it. Try getting the word out on You Tube. That’s what this guy did 
Now as much as I LOVE watching that video, I think I’ve just discovered a better way to help save the next guy…
Enter DoNotRentTo.com…
It’s an online tenant screening service that compiles information about problem tenants so landlords can make better decisions about who they rent to.
Said another way, it’s a national tenant reporting company — you can search their database by name to gauge whether others have experienced problems with a particular tenant applicant.
The missing link in tenant screening?
Any landlord worth his salt already does a standard credit and criminal background check on all tenants (you do…don’t you?)
But credit reports aren’t fail-safe. Sometimes people don’t have a credit history. In my opinion, you don’t really have the whole picture until you speak to their previous landlord.
But what if a prospective tenant lies and provides a relatives number when asked for references?
Yes, it happens. A lot.
That’s where I see a resource like DoNotRentTo.com coming in. A year’s subscription is only $29.99. That’s the investment for the whole year, not per month. (How much do you spend running ONE credit report?)
And apparently you don’t need to subscribe to enter a listing about a tenant - only to search for a name.
As a member, landlords have unlimited tenant postings and unlimited tenant searches. When posting tenant information, landlords are allowed to enter any comments they feel will best describe their experience with a certain renter. Members can also contact other members via e-mail to help verify certain tenant information when needed.
I was able to catch up with the managing partner of DoNotRentTo.com Joseph Collins and have a short chat with him about the service, including…
- How it came about
- Specifically how it benefits landlords
- What does this service provide that you can’t already get on a credit report?
- What is someone posts incorrect information about a past tenant?
- What’s next in it’s development (a property management tool, discounted background checks, etc), and
- How he answers the objections of a few who are concerned about it’s unregulated nature.
If you think this service might be of good use for you, then here’s my short interview with Joe to help cast a little more light on it for you…
Need more info about DoNotRentTo.com? Click here…
Please share your thoughts about this in the blog comments below…
Popularity: 18% [?]
13 Comment(s)
By UncleMo (3 comments) on Jun 6, 2008 | Reply
Digging little deeper than the surface I found that this company does not do credit checks and that they charge more than just the $29.99.
I’m not saying to stay away from them, I’m only saying that the full shabang isn’t told.
By jp (4 comments) on Jun 6, 2008 | Reply
@UncleMo - True, they’re not a credit check service. It’s primarily a deadbeat tenant database, where landlords contribute info on good/bad tenants, and also screen their applicants against the list when considering them. But definitely not meant to replace a good old credit check.
I believe they recently expanded into offering an optional criminal background check as well for $5 add’l. Is that what you’re referencing?
As far as I can tell from my conversation with them and the site itself, the deadbeat database appears to be only $29.99 a year though.
By That's That Guy. (3 comments) on Jun 9, 2008 | Reply
Maybe my ADD’d mind was under the impression from the get go that the background check was going to be included.
By Cogito Vici (1 comments) on Jun 16, 2008 | Reply
Great idea, but won’t they just sue you for saying bad things about them? Some are very savvy on how to work the legal system.
By JP Moses (51 comments) on Jun 17, 2008 | Reply
@Cogito Vici - Of course, anyone can sue anyone for any old thing. But in a legal sense, this seems no different to me than the buyer/seller feedback system on eBay. Tenants have the same right to subscribe and post as landlords do. That’s my thought anyway. I leally like the system.
By Cory Boatright (1 comments) on Jun 18, 2008 | Reply
They probably don’t have enough money to sue you. :0)
One way we have prevented tenants from being total jerks to us is by paying them to leave the house in broom swept condition. This is a great little tip that has served us well doing lease options in Oklahoma. The tenants will run into hard times and won’t be able to pay his lease payment. They usually put down 3% and I come to them and say something along these lines: “Look you put down X and right now you still owe X for last month. I have a idea even though you owe me X I will actually pay you $200 $100 now and $100 when you show me the house is vacant and in broom swept condition. This method has helped me avoid foreclosure for years or even appearing in court to plea to the judge for an eviction.
I think the idea of having a national database for problem tenants is good, but I would like to know how often it is updated and how many reports they receive on a monthly basis. Any metrics like those would convince me more for the $29 fee.
Remember… be a servant,
Cory Boatright
Loss Mitigation Specialist
http://www.ShortSaleology.com
By JP Moses (51 comments) on Jun 18, 2008 | Reply
@Cory Boatright - Cory, great tip. You’re absolutely right. Thanks for that.
Regarding your question at the end, it’s up to landlords to update the donotrentto database. Whoever’s using the system (landlords) input the info on tenants to watch for.
And on the other side, when you get a tenant applicant, you’d go into the donotrentto database and do a search on them to see if any previous landlord has reported them.
So it’s not that they have staff inputting bad tenants and sending out monthly reports to subscribers. It’s much more like a community-run, nationwide database.
Make sense?
By Nick Cifonie (1 comments) on Jul 22, 2008 | Reply
I use a service called “National Tenant Network”.
I had to pay to become a member, I don’t remember how much that was, but once a member, for $10 or $15 I get a full report on each prospective tenant.
I get a report if they’ve ever been in eviction court in any state, if they’ve been sued by a landlord, and some other goodies. They also have an options for a criminal check and cross-reference of their social security number.
It has saved me BIG from renting to a few real deadbeats, who had excellent “references”, even from supposed landlords.
http://www.ntnonline.com/
They have a lot of local offices, and I get the data in seconds from my computer.
Nick Cifonie
Host: http://www.REI-TV.com
By Brooke (1 comments) on Aug 26, 2008 | Reply
Is there a database like this for Property Managers? I am working with a gentleman on a short sale where the company that was supposed to be managing his home has screwed him time and again.
My husband called anonymously asking about the house and was told it was currenly leased while the owner hasn’t gotten any rent for the past five months. Now they just told him yesterday that his house would be auctioned off today! Unbelievable!
Anyway, I’d love to find a way to warn other landlords away from this horrible “management company”. Anyone know of a “This Property Manager Sucks.com” ?
Thanks,
Brooke
By JP Moses (51 comments) on Aug 26, 2008 | Reply
@Brooke - Hey, Brooke, it sdeems to me like a perfect fit for http://www.angieslist.com
…jp
By Richard (1 comments) on Oct 28, 2008 | Reply
Being a landlord once and having a horrendous situation on our hands…I would have greatly appreciated this info 2 years ago. It is very concise and thorough. I am sorry for what you went through, but I understand your pain. First rule of thumb…Never rent to supposed “friends of the family”! It is not worth it and you will be taken advantage of. Because they are friends we did not do the proper tenant screening, and we were sorry and out $5000.00.
We should have done a tenant background check, and I like the idea of making the tenants pay for it. It is an additional tenant screening process all by itself.
We should have done one ourselves as we have our own horror story and money lost.
A lot of those suggestions I would not have even thought about. I wish I would have seen them before I rented. Well, there is always next time, or maybe not…
By Jessie (1 comments) on Nov 4, 2008 | Reply
How do you get the list of bad tenant. Some people call it Renters list. How do you get it, so that I can find out if the person that Im renting to is good or not?
By JP Moses (51 comments) on Nov 7, 2008 | Reply
@Jessie - Jessie, you should first and foremost screen your tenants with a credit check and criminal background check. There are often local agencies who provide that service. Check with your local REIA group or landlord association and you’ll probably find them advertising in the club newsletter.
Then the DoNotRentTo.com list is an excellent backup, to verify if OTHER LANDLORDS have reported them to the list.
Hope that helps.
…jp