Need to vet out potential tenant
I know it’s easy to check background on an individual, but how can I check up on them if they hid behind a corporate veil?

I had a commercial tenant recently that turned out to be a litigious nightmare and didn’t know it because she always hid behind corporations., then BK’d them. How can I safeguard from this in the future?

Thank you.
[{"id": "e2mp09t", "text": "You can perform more in-depth legal searches. Lexis-Nexis is a popular application. I\u2019m in lending and we run them on entities and individuals in organizational structures of our borrowers. \n\nAlternatively, you could require resumes and references and make them sign and certify that they haven\u2019t been affiliated with or a part of prior bankruptcies. If someone is honest, they\u2019ll comply. \n", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e2mpgpt", "text": "Maybe it\u2019s just me, but as an asset owner/manager, I seem to be in selling mode these days to fill up slow selling vacancies. I can see as a lender it\u2019s somewhat easier to get counter-party to deliver their genealogical heritage and a blood sample cause they need the money. As a landlord , however, I need to weed out bad actors without employing strenuous demands.\n\nI like the idea of Lexus Nexus. Any other similar passive systems?", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e2mqw0e", "text": "I\u2019m curious. Was this a home rental or a nicer townhome? \n\nFrom the training I have had on mobile home parks, they warn the type of people that live in parks tend to be more litigious. They have an insurance company they recommend. If the tenant sues, the insurance company and their attorneys deal with them.", "replies": [{"id": "e2muws7", "text": "Neither. This is for a retail mall.", "replies": [{"id": "e2mv8gc", "text": "Is this typical for owning retail properties?", "replies": [{"id": "e2mwmbc", "text": "I think you\u2019ll find bad actors in every property class. I dealt with them previously in office and warehouse settings. Some people are called \u2018professional tenants\u2019.\n\nWe had one guy with strong credentials go into another property with no intention of staying for the life of the lease, merely to capture the peak of a tourist rush. Towards the end of the season, he just upped and disappeared.", "replies": [{"id": "e2mwyge", "text": "I own apartment buildings. I\u2019ve been curious about retail and office space, but I\u2019d want to understand more about dealing with situations like these before I would invest in them.", "replies": [{"id": "e2mx4rk", "text": "It\u2019s much easier to run background on individuals for res, much harder spotting bad characters behind commercial leases as they are typically behind a disposable Corp.", "replies": [], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e2nbxep", "text": "Do you not require a personal guaranty for any tenant regardless of the entity they sign under? Standard practice in my market. This guarantees any protections afforded to them by signing under an LLC, S-Corp, etc. do not apply to the lease document. We'll typically have any principals of the signing entity, as well as their spouses, engage on this. Our standard form will also have them provide full contact information as well as SS #, even if they flee town you (or a professional) can follow.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e2o0i6b", "text": "It\u2019s very hard in our market to get PG from tenants. Mainly because of the nature of the traffic, it makes it hard to predict the chances of success.\n\nIn all honesty, I\u2019m more interested in weeding out repeat offenders before they get in. Don\u2019t know if there is a way to do so before entering into a lease.", "replies": [{"id": "e2p37hh", "text": "That's unfortunate. For the one center we list that does not require a personal guaranty we usually do a lengthy interview, require and search their personal information, as well as require a detailed business plan. We only take this step after LOI is finalized and we are moving to lease draft as to not waste anyone's time. Still been burned however, it's pretty tough to entirely avoid without the PH as even a good tenant who falls on bad times will often take the easy route out if all you can turn to is an LLC/corporation.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]