Rental Property Investor · Pasadena, CA · Member since 2013 · 7 posts · 1 vote
Hi BP,
I am currently in the process of accepting applications to rent out one of my units. One of the applicants who applied is a very polite young man who is married with 2 young kids. He works at a local church as a youth pastor. Upon receiving his application I noticed he does not meet my income requirement. His wife is currently not working since she stays home and take care of their kids. However he told me the church he works for will be paying for his monthly rent. The reason why they are moving is because they are currently living in a one bed room, and needs more space for his growing family.
Yesterday I met up with him at his church so I can talk with his pastor. His pastor confirmed the fact the the church will be paying for monthly rent.
So my question is - how should I handle this situation? I've never encountered such arrangement where a place of employment, let alone a church, will be paying for the rent of my tenant. My first thought is that I will ask the church/pastor to be his cosigner. My initial reaction tells me that this should be pretty secure. I also haven't done my background check/screening yet should I still do so?
I rent out one of my units to a church that has missionaries come through every 3-4 months, so it constantly changes who is living there. We just signed a lease with the church, and they put who they want there. Obviously there is some risk in this - cause we don't know who is moving in... but I figure since they are missionaries, I'm okay with it :)
This is not that unusual a situation where an employer pays for accommodation. If you break it down there are two basic things you are interested in:
- Will the rent be paid - In this situation, your lease should be with the church or at least have the church be a guarantor.
- How will the people living in the unit treat the place - Checking with past landlords and making an assessment of the people should answer that question.
If their previous place was taken well taken care of and you feel comfortable with the church as the guarantor, I would have no problems.
Don't vary from your usual procedures. Do your background check, criminal check and whatever else you do.
I think the only thing you need to add is a "co-signer" check. I don't know if you do these now, but it would be a good thing to add to your process. Whenever I rent to students, I require a co-signer unless they meet my income requirements AND I can talk to their boss.
Personally as long as the Church signed as a co-signer than I would be fine with it. We currently sort of do that with military. We put alot of emphasis on their BAH rates. Since that is their house allowance of sorts.
I rent out one of my units to a church that has missionaries come through every 3-4 months, so it constantly changes who is living there. We just signed a lease with the church, and they put who they want there. Obviously there is some risk in this - cause we don't know who is moving in... but I figure since they are missionaries, I'm okay with it :)
This is the situation I have with my current tenants. I receive the rent check directly from the church. So far it has worked out great for me. Also, they decided they wanted a fence to keep their dog from running near the A/C unit in the backyard. As result, a family from the church who owns a fence company came and built a beautiful fence around the whole area including a gated entrance. I was just fine with it since it was professionally installed.
Is this the LDS Church @Brandon Turner? I just got a call from them inquiring about one of my units. Sounds like a good deal right?? Church pays the rent every month. But... they cycle in and out every few months, and it's not the missionary themselves on the lease, it's the church. Plus I assume it's mostly young men, you know what young men do - for the most part it's not cleaning or quiet time. Gives me just a little bit of a red flag. What has your experience been?
Hey @Kristin Whitaker - yep. It's been great! There have been a few issues, but not too much. When the boys were being a little rowdy and we received complaints, we just mentioned it to the church and it stopped. :)
Thanks for the reply @Brandon Turner! I also have a call into another PM company in town that rents to them. Sounds like it could be a good steady stream of tenancy.