Why should you join the GLA?
The answer is simple...
If you own rental property in the Geneva area you cannot afford not to!
Improperly screening tenants is the quickest way to get into trouble. Simply handing over the keys to your $50,000 or more property to the first person with security and first month's rent is foolish.
How much will your next tenant problem cost you?
When you finance a car or a house there are several things the lender looks at to gauge if lending you the money is a good business decision. A landlord should use a similar process when screening an applicant.
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Sources of income - The lender wants to see if you make enough money to cover the monthly payment of the item.
- The Landlord wants to know if the applicant can afford the rent.
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Credit score - The lender uses this to determine if your past monthly payments have been paid on time.
- In addition to a credit check, a landlord should be contacting prior landlords to determine if rent was paid in full and on time. Additionally they should inquire as to the 'quality' of tenant -- were there any problems with neighbors or other tenants? Did the tenant keep the rental property clean? Were any damages discovered when the tenant moved out?
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Bankruptcy - The lender wants to know if you have ever defaulted on a loan in the past.
- The landlord should be checking for prior evictions.
Of course, all this checking is no guarantee that there will be no problems in the future. However, a pattern of timely rent payments and no problems is most likely to continue to be the same. For the lender verifying this information is easy. Information relating to past payments, bankruptcy, previous creditors is all located on your credit report. For the landlord, we need the same type of information but until now there has never been one place to get it.
When someone applies to rent one of your units how do you know the information they are providing you is accurate?
Everyone knows the trick of not calling the current landlord, but instead call the previous one. But what if the applicant is hiding a previous eviction? Most applicants that have been evicted through court or "asked to leave" will omit that landlords name from the rental history. A common tactic is to put down a friend or relative that will pose as a prior landlord to provide a good reference.
Our mission at the GLA is to "
Succeed through the sharing of information and knowledge
"
Membership in the GLA offers many benefits.
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The ability to meet and network with other landlords in the area.
- We have many years of experience in the rental industry and we have seen it all! Any problem you are facing whether it is a problem tenant, a mechanical problem, an eviciton question, real estate or community issues there is someone to lend a hand.
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Access to databases of information to assist you in screening your applicants.
- Arrest Database - A listing of thousands of area arrests from Ontario, Seneca and Yates counties.
- Tenant Database - A listing of landlords and prior tenants. used for reference verification.
- Eviction Database - A listing of hundreds of evictions processed through Geneva City Court.
- Geneva Landlords List - A listing of all rental property owners in Geneva
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Access to useful files of information.
- We have a wide collection of items such as leases, notices, laws, codes, informational brochures, handouts, legal forms, eviction information, etc...
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Discounts at area business
- Simply show your membership card and save.
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Credit Reports
- Discounted report pricing from Clearscreening.com ($9.00 credit reports)
...and of course much more Membership is only $50 per year. Memberships expire on Dec 31st every year.
If you're joining for the first time, your new membership is pro-rated by the quarter.
Jan - Mar membership is $50
Apr - Jun membership is $37.50
July - Sep membership is $25
Oct - Dec membership is $12.50
Check these out
Upcoming Events
Newsletters
- April 2012 Newsletter
Past issues are in the members area...
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