Disqualify Potential Tenant with First Email Inquiry?

Disqualify Potential Tenant with First Email Inquiry?

Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 3 posts · 3 votes
I have been reading all the blogs and posts within this site as well as books others have recommended. Amazing amount of information! We are busy getting our first rental SFH ready and I am behind on my formal introduction but will do that next.

We have listed our home and have been receiving inquiries. Today I rec'd one with too much information. The inquiry told of other places they have looked, brought up the church they belong to and that they are staying at a hotel right now (there are 3 people). Asked for us to call as they wanted to see the property today. An hour later, I rec'd another email that they like the neighborhood but want the exact address.

My husband's first thought is that it is too much information. I did a search on the emailer's name and it is an unique name- and came up with an odd story of a news story with this person's name in a nearby town of harassment and jail time as well as this person went to law school here. Could be a coincidence or it could be trouble.

To avoid it all, we would prefer to not respond to this person. There are too many red flags and gut instinct says something is not right. I could not find any information that states I have to respond to every inquiry. If from the first email, I don't have a good feeling, I should move on, right?

Thanks!
Jamie
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Nicole A.Pro Member
Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
12y

I don't think it's about morals, but about time management. Screening has a few levels.

If they don't even pass preliminary background checks such as searching on the internet for online court records, Facebook, etc, why would you waste your time and their time (and their money!) doing a full background check?

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  • Investor · Southeast, MI · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    12y

    Staying in a hotel is a huge red flag. Unless their former home recently had a fire, living in a hotel is a sign of poor planning and bad life decisions.

    A few other red flags mentioned are harassment, jail time, and law school. I like to avoid all of those as well.

  • Investor · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2013 · 465 posts · 170 votes
    12y

    Go with your gut and ignore them

  • Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    12y

    Welcome to BiggerPockets, Jamie. Choose the best candidate. Keep looking until you get a great one.

  • Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    12y

    Also be careful of answering questions by email , get their phone number and answer them verbally , after you ask them questions to qualify them . This is your first go around be careful , trust your gut , Professional tenants know what you want to hear , if someone sounds too good to be true , make sure they are that good.

  • Investor · Delaware, OH · Member since 2013 · 224 posts · 64 votes
    12y

    Hi Jamie. I always do some basic Googling on callers before I consider contacting them. If there are too many red flags, or the records I uncovered indicate they don't meet my criteria, I don't call them back.

    Think of it like a job applicant - a company doesn't have to respond to your resume if they don't think you meet the job criteria.

  • Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 3 posts · 3 votes
    12y

    Thank you all for the quick feedback and making me feel better that we are making the right decision!

    I have read so many horror stories and I have been on alert for any red flags. Thanks for pointing out that staying in a hotel is a red flag- I did not have that on my radar.

    My set up is to have them email first and then have a call to go through the "pre-qualification" questions. If they want to fill out and application and see it, then hopefully, we will find a good match.

    I just had not thought that from the first contact, I would disqualify them. The email seemed too strange and I wanted to double check I would not be accused of any wrongdoing.

    Appreciate you all!!

  • Real Estate Agent · Charleston, SC · Member since 2013 · 424 posts · 99 votes
    12y

    I guess don't judge a book by its cover or by Google went out the window. Schedule an interview, run a background check, credit check, then make judgement.

  • Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Jason Eyerly:
    I guess don't judge a book by its cover or by Google went out the window. Schedule an interview, run a background check, credit check, then make judgement.

    Do you do this on all inquiries, Jason? Several times I've gotten over 100 inquiries on a single rental. What's reasonable in this situation?

  • Dallas, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 744 votes
    12y

    A lot of new landlords will run to Google and if Google says they are a bad person the landlord will consider Google is acting as god without checking.


    Joe Gore
  • Nicole A.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    12y

    Yeah, if you can find information on a person right off the bat and you're almost positive it's the correct person, save your time and don't reply back.

  • Dallas, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 744 votes
    12y

    @Nicole W.,

    Are you saying if you find information on Jose Gonzales on the Internet, he is the correct person unless Jose Gonzales is the only one with that name in the USA?


    Joe Gore
  • Nicole A.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    12y

    No, @Account Closed . As I stated, "and you're almost positive it's the correct person"... Obviously this wouldn't work for Jose Gonzales or Joe Smith.

  • Investor · Gaithersburg, MD · Member since 2013 · 659 posts · 441 votes
    12y

    ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS trust your gut!

  • Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Justin B.:
    ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS trust your gut!

    And follow fair housing laws!

  • Real Estate Investor · Member since 2013 · 866 posts · 487 votes
    12y

    @Nicole A. ,

    I'm with you on the Google thing. If it is that obvious, it is not worth going any further.

    Just ignore those using false analogy arguments about name matching. I've found those are the types who couldn't investigate their way out of a wet paper bag much less conduct a good tenant screening.

  • Real Estate Agent · Charleston, SC · Member since 2013 · 424 posts · 99 votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Jon Klaus:
    Originally posted by @Jason Eyerly:
    I guess don't judge a book by its cover or by Google went out the window. Schedule an interview, run a background check, credit check, then make judgement.

    Do you do this on all inquiries, Jason? Several times I've gotten over 100 inquiries on a single rental. What's reasonable in this situation?

    To deny somebody a much needed home on the results of a simple Google Search to a news article from a neighboring city whose source is news station? No, I'd never do that. I guess my morals come into play a little bit sooner than some of us, and I believe in equal opportunity for housing. Perhaps the person was just trying to show their desperation and good character and build a relationship with their possible landlord. If they pay an application fee, I'd run 1,000,000 background checks on everyone who applied, matters not to me.

  • Nicole A.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    12y

    I don't think it's about morals, but about time management. Screening has a few levels.

    If they don't even pass preliminary background checks such as searching on the internet for online court records, Facebook, etc, why would you waste your time and their time (and their money!) doing a full background check?

  • Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    12y

    I don't charge an application fee. Here's an example of a text I got that I summarily disqualified. "I got 5 pits do u take pits?"

  • Real Estate Investor · Member since 2013 · 866 posts · 487 votes
    12y

    The use of social media and online searches as a gating factor is here to stay. It is used in housing, lending, hiring, promoting, firing and prosecuting.

    This horse left the barn long ago. You might as well make best use of the tools available to you.

  • Investor · Southeast, MI · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    12y

    I do as much phone screening as possible. I don't want to waste my time showing houses to losers. I also don't want to have someone fill out an application, pay the fee, I pay to run a background check, and then deny them if I know the whole process will be fruitless.

    I once had a woman ask how close the schools were. Usually when people ask this, they have little kids and want to be close. Not this lady. Her son was about to get out of prison and register as a sex offender. He's not allowed to be within so many feet of a school..Should I waste my time and hers showing her this house when I know that I won't rent to her?

  • Dallas, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 744 votes
    12y

    You need to take the online searches with a grain of salt. Let's say someone don't like Moe Howard and put his info on the Internet does that make him a bad person or a crook. I don't think so now you do a criminal search and find something that is different. I think the tenant should vet the landlord to make sure the landlord is straight up.

    Joe Gore

  • Nicole A.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    12y

    Many counties let you look up court records online for free. So if you see something via another online source, you corroborate with the online court records. No one can fake that.

  • Chris K.Pro Member
    Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 655 votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Jason Eyerly:

    I think this is worse than a preliminary disqualification. If you see red flags why allow them to waste their time and money?

  • Real Estate Investor · Member since 2013 · 866 posts · 487 votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Chris K.:
    Originally posted by @Jason Eyerly:

    I think this is worse than a preliminary disqualification. If you see red flags why allow them to waste their time and money?

    In some areas it is considered fraud for you to run the background checks just to keep an application fee if you know other factors have already disqualified them.

    Stated a different way... once you get to the point where you run the credit, eviction and criminal checks, if you disqualify them it had better be for something you found out or confirmed from those not something like their income was not high enough or the were argumentative or left blanks on the application or any other reasonable factor you knew, or should have known, before you ran the checks.

  • Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    12y

    @Jason Eyerly

    I recieved this text a couple weeks ago.

    Tenant: you work wit people

    Me: What do you mean?

    Tenant: cut deals

    Me: What?

    Tenant: payment plan

    This was when I stopped considering this tenant. You will get many applications (if you can call it that) like this. You cannot take the time to follow every lead. It just does not work.

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