Had a tenant apply. Qualified on income and checks every box.
Filled out all forms properly, and communicates very well. Has an eviction on record 6.5 years ago.
If they applied 6 mo from now it would have not even showed up.
So, would you accept this tenant?
Ps: I placed a tenant 4 years ago with a bankruptcy. They pay on time and haven’t heard from them since
No. My team & I run a huge portfolio (1,000+ units) Prior eviction is always a non negotiable with us. However long ago it was is irrelevant to us. If we find out there was an eviction at any point in that tenants life it's an automatic deny.
Play the numbers. There is a higher statistical probability that a tenant who's already had one eviction will get another. Does it happen every time? No. But the Casino doesn't win every hand. However they do turn out a win at the end of the day......Every time. We can't eliminate risk, only mitigate it to the best of our ability using the limited amount of data on these people that we have available.
@Luka Milicevic
An eviction 6.5 years ago doenst seem to concerning. Maybe the tenant underwent a change in ownership and the new owner wanted new tenants add wanted him to leave. Sounds like a good tenant if it checks all your boxes.
A landlord asking a tenant to leave is a whole lot different than an eviction. It only goes through the court process & shows up on your record when the tenant refuses to vacate the property & the landlord is forced to go through the legal system to regain posession of his property. Typically this process takes a minimum of 6 weeks.
At no point is renting to someone who has forced a previous landlord to go through this ever in the best interest of the next landlord.
That's not correct. K&D as well as other big LL file eviction on the 6th - their due date on the 5th.
When tenant pays, they dismiss the eviction - it called civil dismissal.
If there is forceable detainer, yes, that the real eviction, but very few people have it. Most of the tenants don't even know they have an eviction - they never get evicted, just paid couple days late.
Also, it doesn't rake that long to get your property back. You post 3 days notice in the door, on 4th day your lawyer files in the court, the hearing might be in a week or so, after that couple weeks given for them to move.
So, it's a month and if I take first and last month Rent, it's covered.
Most tenants don't want any evictions, so they might leave but still pay till the end, letting me find new Tenants to avoid early termination fees.
When you have 1000's units, it's hard to see people behind each application. But when you talk to people and see their why's, it's not so complicated. I filed eviction only once and only because the owner get involved....BTW, thesetenants didn't have prior evictions.
When I consider people with evictions, usually it's not their fault (I verify that), they put Sec dep, first and last month Rent and they do have at least 4 rents income/month.
So far, all of them lived through their 2 year leases, some still staying and never had late payments.
I don't ask Tenants to leave - I talk to them if they still can afford rent and if something happen (lost job, health problems etc) I offer them to find a replacement if they keep property in Showing condition and we part peacefully.
If the owner doesn't lose money - they won't too.....that's the incentive for them to cooperate and leave the property in the best condition
the person that I have found will go through the pain in the *** of an eviction process, is usually the personality type that I do not want to do business with (combative personality)
Real Estate Agent · Renton, WA · Member since 2017 · 204 posts · 151 votes
7y
@Luka Milicevic I would look at the circumstances regarding the eviction. The eviction was 6.5 ago and many people financial situation could change and if they were in their early 20s people will mature over time. The fact that he’s been clean for that time doesn’t look like he would be a repeat offender. I would not rule it out sometimes people need a second chance.
It’s easy to pass judgment at the end of the day we are all human, yes it’s business but we can still lead with the heart. Happy Investing!!
Real Estate Agent · Southington, CT · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
People who have gone through an eviction with a tenant and see what it takes to actually get to the point where people are getting evicted are all telling you not to move forward with this tenant. That should speak volumes. It is a complete unnecessary risk.
Real Estate Investor · Unionville, CT · Member since 2016 · 260 posts · 167 votes
7y
@Luka Milicevic I placed a couple in one of my apt where the man had an eviction some years ago. They pay on time and are doing well. It will be a year next month. You can always put them on a month to month which might make you feel better.
Real Estate Broker · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
If this property is in Nashville you should have no problem filling it with a qualified applicant. This is perciesely we have written criteria. We can't haggle with it if it's on paper.
Had a tenant apply. Qualified on income and checks every box.
Filled out all forms properly, and communicates very well. Has an eviction on record 6.5 years ago.
If they applied 6 mo from now it would have not even showed up.
So, would you accept this tenant?
Ps: I placed a tenant 4 years ago with a bankruptcy. They pay on time and haven’t heard from them since
My answer is no. That means they not only stopped paying that they also stayed after numerous chances to leave and forced the landlord to go thru the entire process. If they do it once they will do it again.
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
7y
@Luka Milicevic no I would not. I don't think people understand what an eviction really means. Posting a notice on their door is not an eviction. Any reasonable person will leave when asked. An eviction means they refused to leave. It took a court order and potentially even force-able removal from the property. It means the person not only had "bad circumstances", but is also unreasonable and selfish. These are personality traits that are hard to change.
Eviction is worse than bankruptcy. Bankruptcy can be a responsible decision to rebuild finances. It depends on the type of bankruptcy and debt being discharged, but the point is equating eviction and bankruptcy is comparing two dissimilar things.
Asking applicants to explain the details of an eviction is a waste of time. Why would someone who refuses to leave a property when asked, tell the truth about the circumstances? If the landlord was wrong - it would not be an eviction. Eviction means the court decided the landlord had legal grounds. So why on earth would you side with a tenant over the court and another landlord?
As far as those people who say, "I rented to someone with an eviction and it worked out just fine" - that is not proof that it was a good idea. It is like saying I went 95 miles per hour down the freeway and didn't get a ticket, so therefore speeding is ok. As @James Wise stated, when you rent to an applicant with an eviction, the odds are against you. Maybe you will get lucky for a year, but odds are you eventually get burned.
Specialist · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 20 posts · 3 votes
7y
Really depends on your property, the neighborhood, and the options in front of you.
we refer to it that sometime you "take the best of the worst" meaning if your options are limited and you don't have the perfect tenant, take the best of your options . One thing I would suggest if you go with this tenant is letting your concerns be known before signing the lease. See how they react and what their story is, you learn ALOT about a person when they are explaining themselves.
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2018 · 81 posts · 62 votes
7y
@Luka Milicevic I would rent to him or her. They know the 7 year burden that comes along with an eviction so they're most likely to be on their best behavior moving forward.
Rental Property Investor · Findlay, OH · Member since 2018 · 23 posts · 7 votes
7y
@Luka Milicevic yes so long as everything else checks out. You may want an extra deposit but if almost 7 years is good enough for banks it's good enough for me.
Flipper/Rehabber · Waldorf, MD · Member since 2019 · 11 posts · 16 votes
7y
@Luka Milicevic
It’s a risk no matter what. They may have faced a hardship when that happened. I would look to see if you can have their rent set up like a direct deposit. That way as long as they are employed you’ll see revenue.
Yes, but it depends on what has happened between his eviction and now. I.e, if he/she was evicted 10 years ago but has held a residence and is financially sound, it would be approved for me personally.
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
A prior eviction is an absolute rejection. Evictions cause me big losses. With my lower income properties, I spend a lot of time screening to avoid this.
But beyond that, does this tenant have enough stable factors in the last five years to overcome this? Same job? Same apartment with a good reason they are moving? What's their credit like?
South Holland, IL · Member since 2017 · 376 posts · 432 votes
7y
@Mark Fries
If there was a “rat issue”, why didn’t they just leave as opposed to being evicted. The courts will respect terminating a lease by the tenant in such extreme circumstances. The fact that they had to forcefully be removed from a rat infestation smells like a dead rat.