About two years ago I was talking to my friend Harold, who is a retired army veteran. Harold mentioned that he bought a lot and was building a 6-unit apartment building in the suburb of Tibás which is about 10 minutes north of downtown San José. My friend Harold figured that after his initial after investment his rentals would generate a good monthly income. What he didn’t count on were problems with his tenants. After Harold’s apartments were finished he put ads in several newspapers advertising his rentals. Since the rent was reasonable Harold managed to rent all six units within the first month. My friend was now ready to sit back and watch the money roll in. However, as time went by he encountered some unexpected problems. First, he had some noisy tenants who caused the rest of the people in the apartment a lot of grief. Harold ended up evicting them which took a while and was a big headache. Fortunately, he had a good lawyer who explained to him exactly what to do to expedite the process. The next problem were renters who didn’t pay the rent. Harold ended up getting stiffed on several occasions by tenants who didn’t pay the rent. He learned the hard way how to reduce the risk of renters who don’t pay. To minimize the chance of losing rent monies again Harold employed the following strategies which other retired folks who are landlords can use. First, ask the renters for a copy of their cédula (national I.D. card) or passport, and if they work here a copy of their Orden Patronal (like a pay stub) to make sure prospective tenants earn enough to cover the rent. He also learned to ask the right questions like, “Why did you leave your last apartment?”, “Could I talk to your pervious landlord?” or “Where did you previously live and why did you more?” He also learned to make everything clear in the rental contract so as to cover most situations that might come up. He developed a 6th sense when interviewing people and the ability to screen them well. Finally, he decided to only rent to gringo retirees and other expats because they were less likely to stop paying the rent. One thing he learned the hard way was that it is illegal to cut off the water, electricity or other services in order to pressure a renter into paying. Other retirees and expats who have rental homes or apartments can benefit from Harold’s experience. Also remember as a landlord to familiarize yourself with the county’s rental laws and have a god lawyer to help you with contracts and evictions.