The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Tenant Screening with Lucas Hall

Today we tackle the often-overlooked -- but perhaps most important -- element of real estate investing: actually placing a (great!) resident in your property. Our guest Lucas Hall built website Landlordology.com (which he later sold to Cozy, where he now works) and is an expert on best practices for landlords self-managing small portfolios (that's you!). Lucas walks us through his exact process from the moment he lists a property for rent, to the moment he signs a lease -- AND explains what's changed (and what hasn't) since the COVID-19 outbreak began. Want to avoid evictions and vacancy? Listen up...⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Lucas has been a landlord for 10+ years, owns 4 properties across 3 states. Yet he still hasn't had to evict anybody. That's not an accident; it's the result of a firm but fair process he follows every time there's a vacancy. Plus, we add a fun twist toward the end of the episode when a rookie investor -- Andrés Bustamante -- jumps on the call to ask some GREAT questions about his own current search for a tenant. This is a timeless episode that will be just as relevant years in the future. Check it out now, and subscribe to Real Estate Rookie so you won't miss the next one. See you next Wednesday! In This Episode We Cover: - The importance of "pre-screening" over the phone - Online tools to run background and credit checks - Why you should always check an applicant's social media profiles - The income-to-rent ratio Lucas uses to qualify tenants - Why gathering social security numbers is overrated - Photo ID checks - Where to find classes on how to be a fair, ethical landlord - How to follow fair housing laws - What Lucas thinks of "cash for keys" - Whether to accept pre-payment of rent - Co-signing/guarantor arrangements when a tenant has no income - How to show properties during the COVID-19 quarantine - Handling late and non-payment of rent And much more!