Wednesday, August 20, 2008


Serial Evictees

I just read an article about serial evictees in San Francisco. The laws there are very favorable for tenants' rights, so a savvy renter who knows how to take advantage of the system can live rent-free for months to a year while the landlord is trying to evict them. Chicago laws favor tenants too. I have only heard of a few serial evictees in Chicago. The company I used to work for actually rented to the same serial evictee twice. She was using aliases. One serial evictee can make your life pretty miserable, still it is not all that common here or in San Francisco.

Serial evictees are usually pretty charming, probably give you too much information about their life and will play on your sympathies. The easiest way to avoid them is to always check references, run a credit check, and ask for ID. If you are concerned, ask for a higher security deposit and make sure it clears before they move in. I did hear of a particularly savvy guy who bounced the security deposit and never paid rent. He supposedly conned a bank and a furniture company too. There are ways to drag out an eviction in court for several months based on improper service or condition of apartment. Usually there is little you can do after the fact to regain your money or even punish the tenant who de-frauded you.

I would certainly recommend not falling victim to charm or pressure. Don't let a tenant who wants to move quickly pressure you into making a quick decision. If you are not hearing back from their references, put the onus back on them. Tell them they have to get their current landlord to contact you or you will find someone else to rent the apartment.

It always sets off bells in my head when someone tells me way more information than I need or have asked for. Let's say you ask a prospective tenant where they lived before and they start telling you a long compelling story about how they moved from out of state and there was a fire and someone got killed in the fire and it was in the news and so on, but they don't really answer the question. Why are they sharing all this with you? A simple "from St. Louis" would do. In my experience the con is just around the corner. Move on, it is not worth it.

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