Policy on guarantors and timing to list property (4 questions)

[Emily B.]

I am new to the game and just acquired my first rental property, a quad, a few weeks ago. I am looking to fill all units for 1500 a month with leases to begin Sept 1. To qualify, an applicant's income must be 3x the rent with a credit score of over 650. I published my listing on all the platforms. I've received two applications so far, both with guarantors. 

My questions are: 

1) What should my policy be on guarantors? 

2) Why am I getting interest only from such applicants? 

3) Also, am I posting my listing too early (late June for a Sept 1 start date, with tenants currently in property)? 

4) Does one have to do with the other? 

[Jason Zundel]

Annecdotal evidence certainly, but here are my thoughts - 1) Guarantors can be treated like tenants, so long as you have the contractual background to ensure that they are fully and properly legally bound.  In other words - the guarantor needs to sign EVERYTHING for you to properly be protected.  Guarantors should be individuals and not entities (LLCs or corps), and you should for sure do plenty of background on them (honestly more than the tenant) to verify they have the repayment power should things go sideways.
2) This one is tough without a lot more info.  Where is the building, how old is it, where do you lie on the low-mid-high end spectrum for housing, how close to industry, etc., etc.  Overall, your rent requirements seem fairly reasonable from an industry standpoint as a whole, but the devil is in the details.  That being said (addressing point 4) you are early in posting and it's the desperate that will be looking that far out, so isn't too surprising to me.
3) This could be the reason for the type of interest being received now, that's pretty early for the average renter to be looking.
4). Yes, I do believe this can and is having an impact. Also, you might want to be careful listing early. Though not quite as problematic as selling, if a property has been up for rent for long time with no agreement, there is a bit of an inherent worry - what's wrong with this that it hasn't rented in so long?  You can ameliorate this a little bit by putting in the ad now something to the effect that this is an early listing and highlight the actual availability for move-in.

Note: This information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. No attorney-client, fiduciary, or professional relationship is established through this communication.