Grand Rapids, MI · Member since 2014 · 174 posts · 27 votes
First pass at something like this. Is it legitimate? What are the pros and cons ? I've read online that the payee should be on the lease as well. Red flags ? This is in Michigan if that makes a difference.
Rent is 625 per mo ... SSI is 1500 plus the husband makes 1200 a month.
Thanks all-
First pass at something like this. Is it legitimate? What are the pros and cons ? I've read online that the payee should be on the lease as well. Red flags ? This is in Michigan if that makes a difference.
Rent is 625 per mo ... SSI is 1500 plus the husband makes 1200 a month.
Thanks all-
I am familiar with the SSI payee stuff. If the individual on SSI has bills to pay, the payee must pay them. Especially for something like rent. If they don't, they have to answer to the Social Security Administration.
So, you qualify the individual applicant based on their SSI income. Not on the fact that they have a payee who pays their bills out of their SSI income. Basically, you don't worry about who is writing the check (the payee). You just worry about the applicant and is there enough income for the applicant.
Since you know who the payee is, you could always contact the SSA and let them know that the payee is not paying the SSI recipient's rent. The payee is under federal law to pay the recipient's bills on time.
So, I wouldn't worry about it. SSI is income that shows up like clockwork. If the payee doesn't pay you on time, you could complain to the SSA. And of course, you can always evict. But, odds are, you won't have any problems getting your rent on time.
First pass at something like this. Is it legitimate? What are the pros and cons ? I've read online that the payee should be on the lease as well. Red flags ? This is in Michigan if that makes a difference.
Rent is 625 per mo ... SSI is 1500 plus the husband makes 1200 a month.
Thanks all-
I am familiar with the SSI payee stuff. If the individual on SSI has bills to pay, the payee must pay them. Especially for something like rent. If they don't, they have to answer to the Social Security Administration.
So, you qualify the individual applicant based on their SSI income. Not on the fact that they have a payee who pays their bills out of their SSI income. Basically, you don't worry about who is writing the check (the payee). You just worry about the applicant and is there enough income for the applicant.
Since you know who the payee is, you could always contact the SSA and let them know that the payee is not paying the SSI recipient's rent. The payee is under federal law to pay the recipient's bills on time.
So, I wouldn't worry about it. SSI is income that shows up like clockwork. If the payee doesn't pay you on time, you could complain to the SSA. And of course, you can always evict. But, odds are, you won't have any problems getting your rent on time.
Investor · Sterling Heights, MI · Member since 2015 · 98 posts · 26 votes
10y
A metric I see thrown around a bit on the forums by some of the big hitters is 'income must be 3x the rent.' So with that being said, if you can get her boyfriend on the lease as well, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
Thanks Sue! Should the payee be on the lease? Is 1500 SSI enough Income to support 625 rent? Plus she said her BF makes 1200-1500 per mo.
No, the payee is not on the lease. Think of it as having a secretary who pays the bills for the boss. That's the role of the Payee. They don't guarantee funds, they just write out the checks. For some reason the SSA judge determined that the tenant may not be capable of managing their own money. So, the SSA sends the tenant's money to the payee, who then pays their bills and gives them an allowance, puts some in savings, etc.
So, really, as long as the payee is on top of it, it's kind of like extra insurance that the tenant will manage their money well. They basically have a money manager.
Also, income that is not taxed, like SSI, is usually "grossed up" when you calculate it as far as gross income. What lenders do, for instance, is add 25% to their non-taxed income. Because people who work and have taxes taken out, will actually only have 75% of their income to spend after taxes, more or less. That's the idea of it anyway.
So, for your applicant, with her $1500 SSI, you'd add 25% to that to figure out her "grossed up" income. That would be $375 added to the $1500 to give you $1875 as her income. LOL, I just realized that's exactly 3X the rent of $625 :-) So, she'd qualify on her own anyway.