Tenant Screening-Bad Credit, Willing to Pay Upfront

[Phoenix Brooks]

Hi everyone! 

I am just starting out in the land lording world and I have officially listed my first house for rent, and I need some advice with tenant screening. I have an applicant who is willing to pay 6-12 months of rent up front. But here is the catch, they are moving from state to state and have no jobs lined up yet AND their credit is in the mid 500s due to missed payments, some as recently as 2 months ago. They stated they cashed out their 401k to cover their move and time off, and they provided bank statements to show the deposit. They are also selling their home in their home state and expecting a big profit from that. 

Does anyone have any experience with upfront payments to make up for poor credit? 

Any thoughts/advice would be so helpful! 

[Marc Winter]

@Phoenix Brooks,

What are your written criteria for acceptance? Minimum credit score?

There are two red flags here: poor credit, late payments, oh, make that three flags--no employment.

Most of the applicants who state they will pay for a year up-front, well, they just don't pass the sniff test.  Ever watch the movie "Pacific Heights"?

I'd pass.