Very good point Dave.....first thing a loans officer will look at when you apply for your 1st home loan (other than affordability) is what your credit history is like and how you coped with the payments on previous car loans etc.
Alot of those horror stories come from landlords that were desperate to put a tenant into their rental at the expense of thorough reference checks......thats why I manage it all myself cause agents are a waste of money, they don't check references thoroughly, they are slack with regular inspections and unlike you or me they won't discriminate against unemployed or ex crims. Nothing against some unemployed people but the few that I've experienced would be at the pub on dole day drinking, gambling & smoking then nothing left for rent, bills or to feed their kids.....too much time on their hands!
I've been doing commercial & residential for 8 years now and have seen 2 bad payers and 1 filthy tenant that I got rid of one way or another but have learnt since then not to be too lenient or a charity case and no probz since.