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Wellspring Property Management Blog

Blog Post What should be in a residential lease agreement

What should be in a residential lease agreement

Most landlords treat the lease like a formality. Sign it, hand over the keys, move on. But if you've ever had a tenant stop paying rent, let three dogs destroy your hardwood floors, or rack up HOA fines you somehow ended up paying, you already know the lease is the only docum...
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Blog Post How long does tenant screening take

How long does tenant screening take

Most landlords asking this question are standing in one of two places. Either their property just went vacant and every day without a tenant is money out of pocket, or they have an application sitting in front of them and they want to move fast before the person disappears. Both ...
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Blog Post How to legally reject a rental applicant without violating Fair Housing

How to legally reject a rental applicant without violating Fair Housing

Turning down a rental applicant is one of the most legally sensitive things a landlord does. Most owners don't realize that until something goes wrong.We talk to landlords constantly who are terrified of Fair Housing complaints, and honestly? The fear is making them worse at ...
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Blog Post What happens when a tenant breaks a lease early

What happens when a tenant breaks a lease early

Most landlords find out their tenant is leaving early in one of two ways. Either they get a polite text with two weeks of warning, or they show up to the property and find it suspiciously quiet. Either way, the first reaction is usually panic.Before you start doing math on nine m...
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Blog Post Red flags in a rental application landlords should never ignore

Red flags in a rental application landlords should never ignore

Most landlords know a bad tenant placement hurts. What they underestimate is how much it hurts. We've talked to owners who walked away from a single bad tenant experience with $6,000 or more in losses, all from warning signs that were sitting right there on the application. K...
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Blog Post What to look for in tenant references

What to look for in tenant references

Renting a property without solid references is like handing someone your car keys because they seem like a nice person. You might get lucky. But "might" is doing a lot of heavy lifting when you're talking about a $1,250/month asset and a lease agreement. If you'...
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Blog Post How to check rental history and contact previous landlords

How to check rental history and contact previous landlords

You've got an applicant sitting on your desk with a solid credit score, a steady income, and a charming demeanor at the showing. Everything looks good on paper. So why do so many landlords who skip the rental history call end up dealing with property damage, missed rent, or a...
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Blog Post How to verify income and employment for rental applicants

How to verify income and employment for rental applicants

There's a version of tenant screening that feels thorough but isn't. You collect an application, glance at a bank statement, make a quick call to confirm someone works somewhere, and move forward. It checks the boxes. It also fails regularly.If you own a rental property i...
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Blog Post How to write a pet policy for rental properties

How to write a pet policy for rental properties

Most landlords treat their pet policy like an afterthought. They slap a one-liner into the lease, collect a deposit, and assume they're covered. Then a 60-pound dog chews through two interior doors and the tenant moves out with a $500 deposit on file and no pet addendum in pl...
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Blog Post What does a credit check show landlords (and what score is good enough)

What does a credit check show landlords (and what score is good enough)

If you own rental property in Stockton and you've been making tenant decisions based on a number, you're already playing a guessing game. A lot of owners fixate on the credit score like it's the final answer. It's not. It's one data point in a file that tells ...
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