09.12.14 Our Current Applicant Pool

We are in the throes of unit rehab and tenant selection, with two empty units currently.

Thought I’d give a glimpse at the kind of applicants we see in our low income market. The property facts: 2 bedroom renting for $485/month plus utilities. Maximum occupancy is 4 people, approved dogs OK with additional cost and deposit. It’s not the best block, but the unit has a lot of wow factors, like walls that aren’t white.

APPLICANT #1

Single guy. Non-smoker. No pets. Moving from an hour away, and from far away prior, no ties to area, lived in state many years ago. No criminal history, verified. No verifiable income, starving artist. Offered to pay 3 months’ rent, we’d only take first and last. Cheats on taxes, no files to review, no on-line marketing presence for art, sent photos of some items. Has co-signer. Indicated intend to stay one year. Application says have lived at three addresses in past 5 years, credit report indicates many more. Landlords non-responsive. Has bank account, no debt/collections.

APPLICANT #2

Mother and daughter. Eldest smokes. No pets. Live in neighborhood, very familiar with area. No criminal history, moving to get away from domestic violence. $720/month in subsidy income, daughter intends to get job. No co-signer, don’t have move in money. No bank accounts.

APPLICANT #3

Couple with a one year old. Non-smoker. No pets. Live in local area. Male is level 1 registered sex offender, female has been arrested a few times. Income is $2100, both work, at jobs they haven’t held long (months). They have lived at all previous addresses for over a year, but with family or renting rooms from family, they are young. Has co-signer. No bank accounts.

APPLICANT #4

Two gals, one is pregnant, one has a small child. Non-smokers. No pets. No criminal history, not verified. Moving from an hour away but used to live in this area. Income is $1300/month, all in government subsidy. Has co-signer. Indicated intend to stay one year. Seems to have lived at one address for years, but not verified. Many blanks on application. No bank accounts.

What would you do with this group of applicants? We disqualified applicant #1 because he doesn’t meet our income requirement and I can’t shake the feeling that he could really be a drug dealer. We disqualified applicant #2 because all funds would go to rent and utilities, so they don’t meet our income requirement. They are applying too early, she needs a job first. Applicant #4 is in a holding pattern awaiting the missing application data – current disqualified as too sketchy to adequately verify. I’d love to wait to get about 6 more applications, but looks like we may move forward with applicant #3. They have negatives for sure, but hopefully are longer term tenants, meet our qualifications and no worries about them moving quickly because they didn’t know what the area is like. What is interesting, is that this time there are no pets. Very unusual for this neighborhood.