Rental Property Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2016 · 40 posts · 17 votes
I recently met a potential tenant that I fell in love with. Very sweet personality and she was excited about the uniqueness of the property.
I checked her credit score and it was not great (595), has a history of some late credit card bills, and has a DWI. She said she's been living with her parents so I wonder if she just had a rough spot and moved past it. She also has $30k in student loans.
Is it a terrible idea to let her rent, even if I have a cosigner? Or should I move on to the next one?
Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 17 posts · 10 votes
7y
@Mary Mitchell
I wonder if there's a thread for people like you, who can do both business and good deeds. I get the impersonal approach because it would make things a lot easier to rationalize, but I don't live in a bubble, and my goals are to live happily ever after. To me that means having positive interactions with as many people as possible in my life and having a crowd at my funeral. Thanks for being cool.
Rental Property Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2018 · 6 posts · 10 votes
7y
I don’t have years of landlord experience, but I do have experience with crazy tenants! That’s the price I had to pay going into business blindly. I wish I knew of BP when I was getting started, it could’ve saved me time, money, and major headaches. It’s hard to give an accurate response without knowing the OPs leasing situation: how long was the vacancy, what type of neighborhood, price point, etc.
There are times we all have to take risks, but you must make every effort to mitigate risk when possible. I’ve learned some harsh lessons early and will always try to steer people from making the same/similar mistakes I have.
Rental Property Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2016 · 40 posts · 17 votes
7y
Hi Everyone,
Just thought I'd give an update on this. We went ahead with the tenant but upped her security deposit. She's been a great tenant so far, timely rent payments and takes care of her unit. So far so good!