The Reference Call That Should Have Stopped Everything: How to Screen Tenants the Way Experience Teaches You To

I have been placing tenants in New Orleans rental properties for over forty years. I have made good placements and a few bad ones. The good ones were almost always the result of following a disciplined process. The bad ones were almost always the result of a moment where I let something slide — where a reference felt good enough, where a credit score was borderline but the person seemed fine, where I moved a little too fast.

Over time you learn. You get better at it. You get faster at seeing what you are actually looking at. And you develop a set of principles that you do not deviate from, because the cost of deviating from them is always higher than the cost of sticking to them.

Here is what I have learned.

The Credit Report Is Not Optional

I do not place tenants with bad credit. Full stop. I understand that life is complicated and that credit histories sometimes reflect things that are not entirely within a person’s control. I extend everyone the basic respect of looking at the full picture. But if the credit report is not good, I move on.

This is not arbitrary harshness. A credit report is a documented history of how a person handles financial obligations when keeping up with them requires discipline and consistency. Rent is a financial obligation that requires discipline and consistency. The correlation between credit history and rental payment behavior is not perfect, but it is real. And in a city where the eviction process is slow, expensive, and uncertain, the cost of placing a bad tenant is high enough that I will not gamble on someone whose history says they struggle to pay what they owe.

The same principle applies to criminal background. If there is any kind of record — theft, fraud, violence — I pass. Not because I believe people cannot change, but because I am a property manager, not a rehabilitation program. My job is to protect the property and the owner’s investment. I have to make decisions accordingly.

The Reference Call: What They’re Not Saying Matters More Than What They Are

Here is something I learned a long time ago that has saved me from bad placements more than once: if a previous landlord or property manager is too enthusiastic about a departing tenant, that is a red flag.

Think about it. If you have a tenant who is wonderful — pays on time, keeps the place clean, causes no problems — you do not want to lose them. You are not going to be effusive on a reference call because you are excited about them going somewhere else. You are going to be a little reluctant. A little cautious. You might say great things about them, but there will be a note of genuine regret in there.

When I call a previous property manager and they launch immediately into what a wonderful person this tenant is and how much they’re going to miss them — I slow down. That level of enthusiasm tells me they are trying to get rid of this person, and they want me to be the one who takes them. I start asking harder questions. I look more carefully at the credit report. I pay more attention to what the background check turns up.

“If a previous property manager is too eager and enthusiastic about a departing tenant, slow down. That level of enthusiasm tells me they’re trying to get rid of this person.”

Reading People Is Part of the Job

The documents tell you some of what you need to know. The conversation tells you the rest.

When I meet with prospective tenants I am paying attention. I am looking at how they carry themselves, how they answer questions, whether their story is consistent. I am watching how a couple interacts with each other — whether they seem settled and committed or whether there is a disconnection between them that suggests this living situation may not be stable for long. A couple that has been together for two years and has their lives genuinely intertwined is a different proposition than two people who met six months ago and are still figuring out if they like each other. Both may present fine on paper. Only one is likely to still be there in a year.

I cannot discriminate on the basis of age, and I would not if I could. But I can observe and make judgments about stability and reliability. Young students who are used to being taken care of and have never been responsible for a rental property are a higher-risk proposition than someone who has rented before, has paid their own bills, and has a track record. That is not about age as a protected category. It is about experience and demonstrated responsibility.

I have been approached occasionally by tenants who were attractive, and who made that known. The answer is always no. The moment you cross a personal line with a tenant, you have compromised your ability to manage them professionally. You cannot enforce the lease against someone you are personally involved with. You cannot hold them accountable. I state from the very beginning with every tenant that I am their property manager, full stop, and that I may be complementary but I am always professional. Anyone who cannot accept that boundary needs to find a different property to rent.

When Someone Wants to Break a Lease

It happens. People’s lives change. Someone gets sick. A relationship ends. A job disappears. And sometimes the right thing for everyone is a negotiated exit rather than a legal battle.

My standard approach when a tenant wants to break a lease is to be direct with them. Pay the rent until the unit is re-rented, leave the place clean, and I will not pursue them for the remainder of the lease term. That is a reasonable deal for both sides. They get out of a situation that is no longer working. I get a unit I can turn over and re-rent without a court process.

What I tell them is simple: I cannot in good conscience give you a good reference if you leave me in a bad position. But if you handle this properly, I will be honest with your next property manager in a way that helps you. The alternative is that I pursue the lease, you lose your deposit, the matter appears on your credit report, and your chances of renting anywhere decent in New Orleans get significantly worse.

Most people, when it is laid out clearly, choose the reasonable path. The ones who do not are the ones who were going to be problems regardless.

The Bottom Line

Tenant screening is where property management either works or fails. Get it right and everything downstream is easier. Get it wrong and you are spending the next six to eighteen months managing the consequences of that one bad decision — missed rent, damage, potential eviction, legal costs, and the time and energy that should have been going somewhere else.

Forty years in this city has taught me that you cannot fix a bad tenant after they move in. You can only fix the process that let them through in the first place. The credit report, the background check, the reference call, the meeting — all of it matters. None of it is optional. And the judgment that ties it all together is something that only comes from experience.

When someone tells me they are an experienced property manager, I ask them how many bad placements they have made. If the answer is none, either they are lying or they have not been doing this long enough. The ones who have been doing it long enough, and who learned from their mistakes, are the ones you want watching your property.

David Coxe is a licensed Louisiana real estate broker and the owner of Coxe Property Management and Leasing. He has managed residential property in New Orleans and Metairie for over 40 years. Call him directly at 504-232-1672.