Lessons for Landlords: Aesop's Advice

I was reading through Aesop's Fables recently and fell upon this poignant story:

 The Farmer and the Snake 

ONE WINTER a Farmer found a Snake stiff and frozen with cold. He had compassion on it, and taking it up, placed it in his bosom. The Snake was quickly revived by the warmth, and resuming its natural instincts, bit its benefactor, inflicting on him a mortal wound. “Oh,” cried the Farmer with his last breath, “I am rightly served for pitying a scoundrel.” The greatest kindness will not bind the ungrateful.

 When screening tenants, I use objective criteria that I apply equally across all applicants.  I have found that this has prevented me from finding myself in the position of "pitying a scoundrel" and suffering the consequences of lost rents and damaged property as a result.  Truly, kindness does not bind the ungrateful.  As one of my investor friends once said, "No good deed goes unpunished."

So, as rental season kicks into high gear, make sure you stick to your established criteria.  Prospective tenants will feel they have been treated fairly and your business will be better off in the long run.