HELP! Should I rent to a tenant with a prior eviction?
Rental Property Investor · NV · Member since 2014 · 241 posts · 85 votes
I have a unit in a tri-plex that is available to rent. I had a tenant call to see the property. Everything seemed good, they looked good and showed up on time to the showing. The only problem is when I sent them over the application they stated that they had a prior eviction 4 years ago in 2012. The tenant stated they would pay higher rent and a higher deposit but I'm concerned that I might end up with a problem on my hands in the event they decide to stop paying rent. On the plus side they were very open about the eviction and didn't try to hide anything. People can change so it's tough to just lable them. What would you do? Run the BG check and go from there?
@Garrett Diegel, I will never rent from someone who has been evicted before. Sure, they could have changed and will pay on time each month, but having an eviction shows a to me a couple of things:
1. They paid rent late, or did not pay rent, most likely for more than one month in a row.
2. They let it go all the way to a full eviction, rather than working out a deal with the landlord.
So I would personally NEVER rent to someone who has had a prior eviction. What are the odds that they have changed? How can you prove that? Also, check your local laws, but I know in MA you can't charge someone more rent than you would charge someone else. They have obviouslty had a hard time finding a place to live if they are offering that up front. It should not be hard to find someone else.
Best of luck!
@Garrett Diegel, I will never rent from someone who has been evicted before. Sure, they could have changed and will pay on time each month, but having an eviction shows a to me a couple of things:
1. They paid rent late, or did not pay rent, most likely for more than one month in a row.
2. They let it go all the way to a full eviction, rather than working out a deal with the landlord.
So I would personally NEVER rent to someone who has had a prior eviction. What are the odds that they have changed? How can you prove that? Also, check your local laws, but I know in MA you can't charge someone more rent than you would charge someone else. They have obviouslty had a hard time finding a place to live if they are offering that up front. It should not be hard to find someone else.
Best of luck!
No, no, never, never....
That was my fist thought. @James Nickell
Garrett, very few people are capable of actual, real, change. By the time they are adults, they are who they are, and they always will be. If paying rent was not a priority previously, and they were willing to let them selves be evicted, they will do the same thing again when it suits their situation.
Ask any loan broker how borrowers are qualified. They try to determine two main issues about borrowers: ability to pay their debts, and, willingness to pay their debts. They are different things entirely. Same inquiry should be made of tenants, ability to pay rent, willingness to pay rent.
BTW, always make sure land lord references you are given by a tenant are real. Verify land lords addresses and telephone numbers.
I am actually going through this right now @Garrett Diegel. Normally I would agree with the others and never rent to someone who has an eviction but I am actually considering it! The applicant is still young but has turned a few things around in her life, has a job, going to college, their aunt and father both are willing to co-sign, I did background and credit on both co-signers and they are excellent with VERY good income. The applicant admitted they have since reconnected with their family, which is why they are willing to help her get back on her feet. And small world but I know her brother who is a very good guy! I just may take a chance on this one... The past is a red flag but everything new and in the future is great.
Check to see how they are paying their bills now via the Credit Check. Also make sure you have these Co-Signers. Get all of them if you can. The more co-signers, the better your chance of collecting damages, past rents, etc.
Four years is a long time. It's time for them to have a chance, but only with a co-signer. 2009 through 2012 was a bad market for Real Estate. People lost their homes, and landlords lost them as well. Jobs are gone, lot's of lower pay for people.
Get that Co-Signer and I think you're good to go. BUT see what's on that Credit Report...that is a must !
Nancy Neville
People do not change, situations do.
They have proven in a difficult situation they will force their landlord to evict rather than leave when they can not afford their rent. You are taking a gamble on what path their life takes in the future knowing the likely out come if it goes bad. Mitigate your risk and keep looking for a better applicant.
With a guarantor you will have to go after them for the rent but this is a option. I had one like this and they found no one would step up to guarantee their rent.
I think that in this situation and for our area it is easier to just say no. I'd rather error on the safe side and save myself a problem. - The tenant did state that it was due to medical reasons when whe lost employment. References were provided but I'm still leary of the risk.
Many potential applicants with prior evictions typically tell me upfront about it, but then tell me how it was their ex-wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend's fault.
Typically I would not accept a person with an eviction. I might consider one if it was many years ago, but they will not get a year lease. I will put them month-to-month right from the start. In fact, some landlords do month-to-month for all tenants.
@Garrett Diegel look at it this way. It is not the financial trouble that is the problem, it is their method of dealing with problems. Most likely they didn't have money to pay rent. They were asked to pay or leave. They chose to say no, we will not pay and no we will not leave. Their mentality was to go to court rather than just leave the property. That was four years ago. It is possible their financial situation improved, but their mentality of how they deal with problems has not changed. I am sure they are nice and apologetic for their past, but only because they want something from you.
Here is an interesting question. Have they paid the landlord back for the eviction? I mean all rents, security deposit, hold-over costs and court fees. MAYBE if they paid the landlord back every cent you could consider them partially redeemed.
From what I can see. If you have demand on your building, just wait and rent to better tenants. So, for now, that is what we'll do. Thanks everyone!!! Couldn't do it without the BP community.
I wouldn't. I'm going through my "official" eviction now. Based on how horribly the tenant has handled the situation, I can't imagine she would truly change her ways. Also, as others have mentioned, a tenant having an eviction says a lot. I've had tenants in the past that ran into financial issues, however, they were rational human beings. We sat down, talked about the situation, and they agreed to leave and pay the back rent. Save yourself the headache.
Thats the trick with evictions. They all have some very legitimate excuse. But the bottom line is they played it out all the way to the end instead of just moving out.
Which means if they do run into trouble, they've got no place to go and are just going to milk the free rent.
Time does not heal all. I've found that the few people with an eviction whose sob story I bought, ended up being incredibly difficult to collect from. So even if I didn't have to evict them, they were still awful tenants.
That doesn't mean you can't find someone decent with an eviction. But why risk it? The odds are no longer in your favor thats for sure. Why not take someone that doesn't have an eviction instead?
Not only that but it sets a clear precedence in your area that landlords don't take people with evictions - so tenants, you better not get an eviction with me or your name will be mud for any future rentals you go after.
@Garrett Diegel Why take that risk if you have a quality rental that will attract quality tenants? Don't overthink it. I have never regretted being patient filling a unit.
@Garrett Diegel I'm with the majority, but I'll add that you should set your rental criteria based on the property and quality of tenant you can attract. Unless your property is in a D or F neighborhood you shouldn't accept applicants with recent evictions.
@Garrett Diegel I would like to add to this conversation, but not go with the majority. I would say listen to the circumstances of the eviction and make your judgment based on the cause of the eviction and not just the event itself.
When I was in college, I sublet a room from a friend so that I could stay on campus for the summer. At the time, we were paying below market rents ($2000/mo vs $2600/mo) and knew that the apartment manager was doing everything in their power to get us to move out so that they could rent to foreign students for the summer (at a whopping $3000/mo!). They warned the building that no partying would be tolerated and that this was our only warning. Being college students, we understood what he said but didn't think he was serious, so we held a small get together and had a great night (don't think of any crazy parties, think relaxed kickback).
The next morning we got an eviction letter telling us to move out immediately. Being the dumb kids we were, we wrote an apology letter and tried to talk him out of it, but he used the letter as proof instead.
My friends now have an eviction on their record.
Did they make a poor decision, yes, they sublet their lease when they weren't supposed to and their subletters held a small get together. Will they be a risk to you today? Unlikely, they all graduated and have stellar careers.
Not everything is black and white and if everything works with the tenant but a small stain in their history, don't completely block them out because of it.
My two cents,
-Sean
Hey Garret, I have to agree with the majority of the posters on this thread. Not being able to pay your rent and voluntarily leaving like a man/woman should is one thing. Forcing the landlord to pay for an eviction to the point that it takes law enforcement to get you to leave the place is another.
People will tell you what you want to hear when you have something they want. They may even believe in their own hearts that they will always pay. But being forcibly evicted is just too much of a big deal to overlook. If they had turned around their life to the point that they could be trusted, they might be in a situation to buy, not rent. That's the way I'd be looking at it.
I have a unit in a tri-plex that is available to rent. I had a tenant call to see the property. Everything seemed good, they looked good and showed up on time to the showing. The only problem is when I sent them over the application they stated that they had a prior eviction 4 years ago in 2012. The tenant stated they would pay higher rent and a higher deposit but I'm concerned that I might end up with a problem on my hands in the event they decide to stop paying rent. On the plus side they were very open about the eviction and didn't try to hide anything. People can change so it's tough to just lable them. What would you do? Run the BG check and go from there?
Imagine loud brake screeching noise.....rrrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkkkkkk!
No, they weren't very open about the eviction and yes they did try to hide it.
Their mission was to shmooze you in person, which they successfully did, or you wouldn't be here asking if you should rent to people with an eviction.
This is exactly the scenario I was talking about on another thread about why meeting tenants in person is not always better than renting to out-of-state applicants without meeting them first.
Con artists want to meet you in person and gain your "con"fidence. First, they get you to like them and feel "con"fident about them. Then, they spring the bad news (unless they can get out of doing that, too). They wait until you will want to talk yourself into giving the unit to them, because you liked them.
And they "trick" you into thinking they were open and honest about the eviction, simply because they told you about it -- after the discovered that you weren't going to just sign the dotted line, but were actually going to make them fill out an application.
Whenever you start doing the work to make a tenant eligible against your normal criteria - trying to fit that square tenant into a round hole - tell yourself to STOP!
Unless you can find absolutely no other tenant on the planet who is better, and you absolutely can't wait any longer for any tenant, even if they are terrible.
Otherwise, be firm in your criteria. No matter how cute they are, if they don't meet your criteria, you must say no. Or face the consequences.
If you lower your standards, you will have problems. Ask me how I know :-)
Yes you should definitely stick to the safe side. Even with tenants offering higher rent and deposit. I don't think it's worth it. I've had to tell applicants before to not waste their time. It's hard sometimes to instantly deny them based on prior evictions, I understand life happens and things like that. But with an eviction on their file they might not have much to lose anyways if they decide to stop paying.
I am actually going through this right now @Garrett Diegel. Normally I would agree with the others and never rent to someone who has an eviction but I am actually considering it! The applicant is still young but has turned a few things around in her life, has a job, going to college, their aunt and father both are willing to co-sign, I did background and credit on both co-signers and they are excellent with VERY good income. The applicant admitted they have since reconnected with their family, which is why they are willing to help her get back on her feet. And small world but I know her brother who is a very good guy! I just may take a chance on this one... The past is a red flag but everything new and in the future is great.
Oh my gosh, I rented to this person. And Iearned why her mother and stepfather were so willing to "help her get on her feet." Translation: Get her out of my house! LOL.
I just really disagree with the idea that having co-signers is the magical answer. Co-signers just give you someone to sue after you go through the problems and the eviction with the bad tenant. They don't guarantee a problem-free tenant.
And the tenant I am referring to - the rent was always paid on time by Mom, who sure didn't want her moving back into her home with her granddaughter.
What happened was, the tenant was just an irresponsible drama queen. The baby daddy moved in, they smoked in the apartment against the rules, and just dropped cigarettes everywhere - the carpet had burn spots all over it, it's a wonder it didn't burn the place down. They parked in ways that blocked entrances and other tenants' cars. Then, the knock down dragout fights and screaming (yes, in front of their kid). Cops being called, my good tenants talking about moving out because of it....
Thank God I only used month to month agreements.
But, if you think getting the rent is the only issue, think again. People who are irresponsible with money, will have other issues, too.
So, why did I rent to her? It was right when the crash happened, we all of a sudden had a bunch of vacancies, and the panicked owner (who was not hurting for money) told me to "lower your standards." Okay, boss, but I'm warning you......
You screen not only for income problems, but for overall "bad" tenants. Good criteria will lessen all your bad tenant problems.
Hear my mantra new landlords. Co-signers do not equal problem-free tenants.
@Account Closed not sure if you are aiming this all at me since you quoted me but those are a lot of assumptions you are making about mine and other potential tenants. I look at every circumstance differently and not everything is black and white. First, my potential tenant doesn't actually live at home and is paying their own rent now. They moved across state to be closer with family and get away from their friends. I could keep going but I am really not trying to defend anyone. You also made an assumption of being a new landlord, I am not, I have 17 units and my business partner who has been doing this for 45 years had more than one could count. My worst tenant so far was a single dad with a good job, nothing in his background and good credit. We were close to eviction with him but eventually he'd pay each month. It was terrible! This is a business and you need to make smart decisions but it's also a people business and it's our job to work and help people. That is the core of the real estate business.
I wouldn't mess this guy. If you have a shady place one of those 2% rule places you probably have to. That is why you are making all that money. But a typical place where I live no way. I have seen so many tenets that justify to themselves why the world is against them and nothing is there fault. If someone could just cut them some slack their whole life would be different. Unfortunately this is not generally the case. As my dad always reminded me "no good deed goes unpunished."
@Account Closed not sure if you are aiming this all at me since you quoted me but those are a lot of assumptions you are making about mine and other potential tenants. I look at every circumstance differently and not everything is black and white. First, my potential tenant doesn't actually live at home and is paying their own rent now. They moved across state to be closer with family and get away from their friends. I could keep going but I am really not trying to defend anyone. You also made an assumption of being a new landlord, I am not, I have 17 units and my business partner who has been doing this for 45 years had more than one could count. My worst tenant so far was a single dad with a good job, nothing in his background and good credit. We were close to eviction with him but eventually he'd pay each month. It was terrible! This is a business and you need to make smart decisions but it's also a people business and it's our job to work and help people. That is the core of the real estate business.
Woops. I see why you'd think the entire post was directed at you, since I quoted your post. I was just referencing your post, and then started blabbing, like I do :-)
But, you mentioned that you were in a similar situation, considering taking someone against your better judgment. So, my advice regarding trying to fit that square tenant into a round hole does apply to you.
And, no. Landlords do not have any kind of responsibility to be social workers or charities. So, we disagree on that. You don't have to get in their faces and scream at them that they are losers - but you can firmly say, nope, go learn your life lessons on somebody else's dime.
@Account Closed not sure if you are aiming this all at me since you quoted me but those are a lot of assumptions you are making about mine and other potential tenants. I look at every circumstance differently and not everything is black and white. First, my potential tenant doesn't actually live at home and is paying their own rent now. They moved across state to be closer with family and get away from their friends. I could keep going but I am really not trying to defend anyone. You also made an assumption of being a new landlord, I am not, I have 17 units and my business partner who has been doing this for 45 years had more than one could count. My worst tenant so far was a single dad with a good job, nothing in his background and good credit. We were close to eviction with him but eventually he'd pay each month. It was terrible! This is a business and you need to make smart decisions but it's also a people business and it's our job to work and help people. That is the core of the real estate business.
It is true that sometimes tenants who look good on the surface turn out to be bad. That that is the exception rather than the rule. Same thing with people who have evictions, some may be good tenants over time, but that is the exception rather than the rule. It sounds like you are trying to do something nice to help someone, which is fine but it can be risky. Given your experience, you probably have good decision making skills, but I would not recommend others do the same. Here is an analogy. An experienced rock climber may climb without safety ropes and may never get hurt. That doesn't mean the average person should try that and it is arguably not even a good choice for an experienced climber. In business, as in life, there is no reason to take unnecessary risk.
I think you got your answer but unequivocally NO-NO-NO - I'd rather accept less a month in rent than risk it.
However, I was reading that at least in Washington, tenants can appeal to the court to remove evictions from their record. Don't quote me on that but I think that's coming down the pipe and I wouldn't be surprised if other states adopted it.