First come, first qualified?
Hi fellow landlords!
I currently use a policy for accepting tenants where I say that the first applicant who turns in their complete application and is qualified will get the unit. This works out well most of the time as it gets serious applicants to turn in their applications quickly. Largely I prefer this policy as it limits discrimination charges.
One downside I see to doing it this way is that it limits my ability to choose a tenant I feel may be equally qualified, but for personal reasons I think they may be a better fit to my apartment community. If they were the second qualified applicant in, I wouldn't run their credit or background until I denied the first applicant. The choice is hard some times as you never know what you'll get until you do those two things.
What do you do and why?