Eviction on record from 7 years ago (2008) do you rent to them?
Dallas, TX · Member since 2014 · 517 posts · 106 votes
Trying to find our first tenants. We have found a couple that we like, however the husband has an eviction from an apartment in 2008. I have heard some say that if a person has ANY evictions they would not rent to them. Just wondering if there is a time limit on evictions? Would you rent to someone with an eviction from 7 years ?
Well, it is complicated. I would look at the rest of the credit report. If they were squeaky clean after that, I personally would. My best tenants are the ones that had issues but have turned their life back around. I've had some misses too, but I was on it to get them started on eviction as soon as they relapsed, so they knew I was all business.
You will have the most leverage against them, because it is hard for them to find somewhere else to live.
Maybe charge a premium on the rent for the first year? In NJ your secuity deposit is very limited (1.5x rent amount) so I would go the route of extra payments to build a extra layer of protection for you. It looks like income but you need to save that for court fees and unpaid rent. If Texas has looser rules for security deposit, I would go with 2 months and last payment. If they can come up with that sum, they are most likely good people.
@Rhondalette W. - I would pass on this one. Personally I do not like evictions. The app we use (we work with a realtor) asks specifically: has the applicant ever been evicted. The fact that you had to learn about this from the background check is a red flag for me - the guy is not being honest. Renting from the wife's family sounds suspicious too. We got burned by one of these once.
If you do take them, get at least a double-deposit. If you can find reason to request a triple-deposit - go for it. Protect yourself.
Andy
An eviction from when someone was single and in their early 20s is mitigated, IMO, by becoming a married couple with a child and good income 8 years laters. However, I see other issues. The applicants didn't give you any real personal references. And they've been supposedly renting from one of their parents. They don't sound like they have authentic rental history references. You gotta wonder why.
You say that all your applicants thus far are somewhat problematic. How desirable is your unit really? How's the location and is the rent a good value? If so, you should have good tenants competing for the unit in a market like Dallas. IMO, if you're getting less than great applicants in a good market you have a less than great unit.
Marie, thank you for adding your comment about how people can change as they marry and mature. I agree with you regarding renting from parents and not having an authentic rental history. You asked about how desirable the unit is. You can click on my profile, I have included photos of the property. It is in a "B" class neighborhood.
Regardless of what else you do, I would not do a 2 year lease. I don't know how you would collect if they broke the lease but its pretty darn hard, if not impossible to collect from tenants. Having a long lease only holds you from raising rent and from having them move out if you don't like them as tenants. I do 1 year leases so that I turn away any short term tenants, but anything longer is not better for the landlord.
After the 1st year is up, I offer a choice of MTM, 6-9 month lease, or 12 month lease with different rent rates. Longer the lease the smaller the increase.
@Rhondalette W. - I would pass on this one. Personally I do not like evictions. The app we use (we work with a realtor) asks specifically: has the applicant ever been evicted. The fact that you had to learn about this from the background check is a red flag for me - the guy is not being honest. Renting from the wife's family sounds suspicious too. We got burned by one of these once.
If you do take them, get at least a double-deposit. If you can find reason to request a triple-deposit - go for it. Protect yourself.
Andy
This may sound crazy but our application asked have you ever been evicted too, however, I believe the wife completed the application and she does not have any evictions. It is a joint application. I even question whether the wife knows that hubby had an eviction 7 years ago prior to their marriage.
@Rhondalette W. - I just checked out your property in your profile - looks pretty sharp. We have one not too far from you, south of Belt Line, close to Les Ziegler park just west of Southhampton, 1978, 4/2/2, 1835 sq ft - we also listed it at $1250 and rented it pretty quickly. We got a lot of apps and had to pass on quite a few.
I noticed you just listed it under a week ago? Stay patient and be sure you are comfortable with your choice.
Andy
@Rhondalette W. - I just checked out your property in your profile - looks pretty sharp. We have one not too far from you, south of Belt Line, close to Les Ziegler park just west of Southhampton, 1978, 4/2/2, 1835 sq ft - we also listed it at $1250 and rented it pretty quickly. We got a lot of apps and had to pass on quite a few.
I noticed you just listed it under a week ago? Stay patient and be sure you are comfortable with your choice.
Andy
Wow Andy, it is nice to meet another investor in my back yard. Sounds like your property had a bit more square footage with an extra bedroom at the same rent. Glad to hear that you too had to pass on quite a few before selecting a tenant. This give me hope. Thanks!!
Regardless of what else you do, I would not do a 2 year lease. I don't know how you would collect if they broke the lease but its pretty darn hard, if not impossible to collect from tenants. Having a long lease only holds you from raising rent and from having them move out if you don't like them as tenants. I do 1 year leases so that I turn away any short term tenants, but anything longer is not better for the landlord.
After the 1st year is up, I offer a choice of MTM, 6-9 month lease, or 12 month lease with different rent rates. Longer the lease the smaller the increase.
Thanks for this tip Seung Lee. They did ask for a two year lease and I was considering. Do you recommend simply starting out with a MTM lease instead of 1 year? Is MTM better?
First tenant you say?
Skip them. Unless this is a large complex, and you are getting desperate. But that does not seem like the case.
I deny evictions unless they provide 6-12 months of prepaid rent...
Regardless of what else you do, I would not do a 2 year lease. I don't know how you would collect if they broke the lease but its pretty darn hard, if not impossible to collect from tenants. Having a long lease only holds you from raising rent and from having them move out if you don't like them as tenants. I do 1 year leases so that I turn away any short term tenants, but anything longer is not better for the landlord.
After the 1st year is up, I offer a choice of MTM, 6-9 month lease, or 12 month lease with different rent rates. Longer the lease the smaller the increase.
Thanks for this tip Seung Lee. They did ask for a two year lease and I was considering. Do you recommend simply starting out with a MTM lease instead of 1 year? Is MTM better?
I don't like starting with MTM because then you attract people who may just be looking for a short term lease. I try to find people who will stay for multiple years. The turnover and lost rent between tenants is costly. I know someone who recommends doing a MTM with a 1 year rent freeze guarantee so that the tenants aren't worried about immediate rent increases. But personally, I think the 1 year initial lease is worth the risk of getting a bad tenant for a year if you do a good job of vetting. We always charge $30 for application fee and let applicants know that we have minimum requirements of 650 credit score, 2.8 times rent for income, and no major collections or eviction on record, and no felony criminal record. It's a waste of $30 for them if they don't meet the qualifications and I let them know up front.
@Rhondalette W. - I would pass on this one. Personally I do not like evictions. The app we use (we work with a realtor) asks specifically: has the applicant ever been evicted. The fact that you had to learn about this from the background check is a red flag for me - the guy is not being honest. Renting from the wife's family sounds suspicious too. We got burned by one of these once.
If you do take them, get at least a double-deposit. If you can find reason to request a triple-deposit - go for it. Protect yourself.
Andy
This may sound crazy but our application asked have you ever been evicted too, however, I believe the wife completed the application and she does not have any evictions. It is a joint application. I even question whether the wife knows that hubby had an eviction 7 years ago prior to their marriage.
This is why we have each adult complete their own application and interview all parties. We look at the whole package. Sometimes a tenant with a problem in their past will make a good long term tenant, but I would not sign a 2-yr lease with anyone.
We allow for up to one past eviction, but we will look into the circumstances, what they have done since, and require them to made amends. We will ask for extra security deposit to cover our risk. Here is an excerpt from our rental criteria: " Eviction or unlawful detainer action which has been resolved with full restitution may be approved with additional security deposit. One eviction only. Multiple evictions will result in denial."
I would definitely talk with the applicants about your findings and hear their side of the story. Trust but verify. If you did not ask him directly about past evictions either in a screening interview or on the rental agreement, I would not fault him for not volunteering information from that far in the past. Living with family may have been the only option when the eviction was fresher. So that doesn't surprise me either.
@Rhondalette W. - I just checked out your property in your profile - looks pretty sharp. We have one not too far from you, south of Belt Line, close to Les Ziegler park just west of Southhampton, 1978, 4/2/2, 1835 sq ft - we also listed it at $1250 and rented it pretty quickly. We got a lot of apps and had to pass on quite a few.
I noticed you just listed it under a week ago? Stay patient and be sure you are comfortable with your choice.
Andy
Wow Andy, it is nice to meet another investor in my back yard. Sounds like your property had a bit more square footage with an extra bedroom at the same rent. Glad to hear that you too had to pass on quite a few before selecting a tenant. This give me hope. Thanks!!
You two should become colleagues, and Rhondalette you should ask Andy to pass along your listing and contact info to the candidates he turned away :)
So let's talk about eviction "types". Because not all evictions are the same.
@John Hyatt and @Steve Vaughan both mention the mentality of the bad type - they have to be physically removed by the sheriff, and you really want to avoid those regardless of other factors. Because of that past behavior, they know how to play the game better now.
Then there are the types like @Aly W. (later in his post) discussed where the tenant was young and circumstances went badly, but tenant is older and wiser now. And these usually just need the eviction filed, because that then gets them to vacate the unit without need for the sheriff. So what are some circumstances that make these seem to be a more acceptable risk? Maybe they had a roommate at that young age, and the roommate flaked and moved out, leaving behind somebody who couldn't afford the rent alone. Loss of job / income, illness where they could not work - well, there are lots of circumstances in the past. Then there should be some change that you want to see to mitigate the risk. K. Marie mentioned being married with kids - provided that happened after the eviction. Or new roommate was found where the tenant has been stable in the same place for a couple of years. Likewise for new job. And of course you want the applicant to be honest about the eviction, not hide it, and you want the applicant's story to be corroborated by the evicting landlord.
Pass. Eviction on record is an automatic denial in our system. Move on to the next application.
Here';s something I have to reflect on reading all these replies. At one point does someone get a second chance? If everyone adhered to what some here say, they'd have to live under a bridge.
@Steve Babiak - good thought on our "discards", but we leased up right about a year ago.
@Rhondalette W. - concerning the sq ft and room differential between our two properties: the rental market has climbed in most of DFW since we leased up a year ago; I have not tracked Desoto since we have a 2-year lease, but I imagine Desoto is up as well. Your finish out is a little higher-end than ours (e.g. granite countertops...) as well. I will send you the address so you can check out the old listing.
You mentioned one of your applicants has a bankruptcy. I would not rule that one out necessarily. The hardships of the last recession pushed a lot of folks into that position. If they have a good job and solid savings at this point, they may be worth a second look.
One other comment: I notice you list your "deposit" as $2,500. That is the first number a lot of people might notice and could stop some potential applicants. In the details of your listing (on your profile anyhow) it explains that half is first-month's rent and half is the actual deposit. Some folks may not read far enough to see that. I would change that.
Andy
@Matt Sicignano - I have to respectfully disagree. This business is risky enough without the added risk of a "second chance" tenant. Especially for someone on their first rental.
Andy
Here';s something I have to reflect on reading all these replies. At one point does someone get a second chance? If everyone adhered to what some here say, they'd have to live under a bridge.
My last post on the previous page goes into the notion of second chance without explicitly calling it that.
Here';s something I have to reflect on reading all these replies. At one point does someone get a second chance? If everyone adhered to what some here say, they'd have to live under a bridge.
Maybe. But not from me. Whoever wishes to take the chance on them are welcome to but I would recommend extra security deposit.
Obviously a ton of great advice here that should be enough to help you make your decision. My opinion on it though is to go with your gut. I totally understand just flat saying "no". It is a risk and why bother with the potential hassle? I don't think anyone gets into rei to take on headaches and time wasters. But at the same time this is America and everyone deserves a second chance if they're trying to do things the right way. Some are in a position to offer that second chance. Some aren't. Depends on your personal situation. But if you can and if it appears on all accounts tangible and intangible that they are trustworthy, responsible, and able and willing to pay on time... I would seriously consider it. And there are ways mentioned by others to help protect against your nightmare coming true. It's a bit of a roll of the dice but it could easily work out in your favor.
@Steve Babiak @Account Closed
Thank you all for your advice on whether to rent to this couple. Just to recap on the couple
Husband- has an eviction from 2008. Wife has no evictions, they meet our standard qualifications in every way except for his eviction. (credit scores are H-676 and W-716, employed earning 3x's rent, No smokers, No pets, No criminal history). They have been renting from wife's mom since 2013.
I have asked them to write a LETTER OF EXPLANATION for the eviction and here is there response:
We are unable to provide you a letter on the eviction because he was never evicted from the stated apartments. He has contacted the apartments and they do not have any records from that year because the apartments have since changed management. The apartment also advised us to call the company that most apartments use to place evictions on record and we called and they do not have record. We also contacted the records building of Dallas and they have no record and also logged into ROAM Dallas to view if it showed there as well and it does not have any record of eviction or judgement against him.
Finally the couple stated that they have decided to retract their 30 day notice with current place (mom?) because they we're afraid that they would not have issue resolved in 30 days and don't want to risk being without somewhere to live.
I would send them your report. And maybe ask for cancelled rent checks or proof of deposit from "mom".
Then go with your gut....
We have a duplex in Arlington and are under contract for a 4 plex in Arlington. We have people lined up to rent, don't panic renters will come.
My question to you is:
What are your thoughts? What do you want to do at this point?
@Rhondalette W. What service did you use to do the background check and what is the reference they used to indicate an eviction (court case #, recorded judgment, etc.)? An "eviction" is a court case that ends with a judgment for the plaintiff (landlord). The tenant either leaves, and if they don't the landlord uses the judgment to arrange for forceful removal (sheriff lockout). If there was an eviction or an eviction filing, then it's of record at the courts.
If the courts don't have a record and your service is reporting an eviction, I'd be wondering where the information came from.
If it's that old we would rent to them if 1) there are no other evictions and 2) it has been paid off. And of course they need to qualify otherwise as well.