Tenant Applicants say the dumbest things

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Tenant Applicants say the dumbest things

Robin Grimes
Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2010 · 37 posts · 326 votes

Stupid things Tenant Applicant’s say.

I had renovated a nice 4/3/2 and put it on the market for lease. Here are some of the comments from people who toured the property during the open house or called me from signage.

#1
Young single mother with 3yr old in tow. “My boyfriend will be paying the rent, he said to just go find a place, but I want to rent it in my name, so it will be mine alone.”
I’m thinking: I’m not renting to someone without the verified income to pay the rent. Sorry but a promise from a boyfriend just won’t do.
I’m saying: Here’s a rental application. The application fee is $25 but you should know that I will need to verify income and whoever is paying will need to be on the application and lease.

#2
Middle aged couple with no kids. Wife says “I don’t like the wood floors. If you can put down carpet and repaint to something brighter, we’d be interested. Also you will need to replace the stove.”
I’m thinking: The wood floors are new laminate that I just spent $1400 and two days installing. The paint is all new also. If you want to remodel a house, go buy one yourself.
I’m saying: Here’s a rental application. The application fee is $25. The property is being rented in its newly remodeled condition.

#3
Family. Made appointment and met me at house. Husband says “I need a 3 car garage.”
I’m thinking: The 2 in 4/3/2 stands for TWO car garage. Plus the photos show it’s a two car garage, so why are you here wasting my time and yours? Did you think I was hiding a third garage bay in the back yard?
I’m saying: Here’s a rental application. The application fee is $25. This house only has a two car garage.

#4
Very young guy, young 20’s maybe, called me from sign in yard. He’s parked at house. Says: “ I need a big place for my girlfriend and our 3 month old since we want to have more kids. Could you help me out and rent it to me for $xxx” (about ½ the rental rate).
I’m thinking: So you’re requesting that I contribute half your rent so you can have more kids that you can’t house and support.
I’m saying: I’m happy to provide an application. The application fee is $25. Sorry the rental rate is firm.
.

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Most Popular Reply

Don KonipolBusiness Member
Investor · The Woodlands TX / Avon, CT · Member since 2009 · 6k+ posts · 10k+ votes
14y

Last year I was renting a high end high rise condo - rent $1800 per month. A guy asked if I could give him the first 6 months free and waive the security deposit, after he found a job he would make double payments the second 6 months.

Had a tenant a few years back that signed a 12 month lease. always paid her rent on time. The lease of course becomes a month to month if she stays on. I asked her if she desired to renew the lease at expiration, or would she be moving. She said that since she fullfilled her lease obligation by paying 12 months rent she would stay on. She honestly believed that once she paid 12 months rent the apartment was hers for free for as long as she wanted!

But the best one was the tenant that always had an excuse for late rent. One month he told me he had sent the check in on the 2nd, of course I had not received it by the 5th. When I did receive it it was dated the 6th. Called the tenant and told him if he was going to lie at least pre date the check.
The next month I send the tenant an invoice for the rent, late fee, plus $250. The tenant calls and asks what the additional $250 is for. I told him it was a "lying fee". A couple days later I received the rent, late fee, and an additional $500. Called the tenant to ask why he sent an additional $500. He said he knew he would lie to me again in the future so he was prepaying an additional lying fee! BTW, although he is no longer a tenant and hasn't been for some time, he is now a friend. The entertainment value of this guy far outweighted the aggravation.

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  • Kelly N.
    Investor · SE, MI · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 461 votes
    13y

    I love this thread! I can finally add to it...

    (Applicant has a 4pm apt, calls at 3 to reschedule for 7pm, I agree)
    7:15pm
    Me: Hi, just calling to see if you are on your way to our appointment to see the apartment...
    Applicant: Oh, I'm not going to make it, I have to make phone calls, you know, like I have to call GEICO!
    Me: Well, ok. Have a nice evening, and I appreciate the notice that you weren't going to make it..
    Applicant: Oh, hey, no problem!

    Different Applicants-
    Me: I regret to inform you that we have to turn down your application- you still owe a past landlord money for late fees and electricity.
    Applicant: Well, we've got a few issues with out current apartment, so we stopped paying rent, but if we give you a receipt saying we paid the last month's rent, will you reconsider?

    2Reply
  • Deborah BurianPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 412 votes
    13y

    Love these, I just got the lawnmower one last week...

    "Do I have to mow the lawn?"... Yes
    "Is there a lawnmower?" peering about the yard... No
    "Do I have to get a mower?"... Yes

    And yesterday - what can you tell me about this felony you've declared... wife bristles "it was a loong time ago, we're church people now" Come home, look it up, still on probation for possession of meth with intent to distribute...

    And a new one for me yesterday... one member of the couple has a VPO against the other... uh, no thanks.

    And one more recent favorite... all the same 'candidate.'
    Can we paint?... No (whole house was just painted) Can you run a gas line so we can have a gas stove? No... Well, can we at least throw some texture on the walls? Flat walls are soo boring. (immaculate, smooth plaster walls)... No.

    We got a great tenant for that house, it just wasn't her.

    3Reply
  • Mike Franco
    Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 555 posts · 261 votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Deborah B.:

    And one more recent favorite... all the same 'candidate.'
    Can we paint?... No (whole house was just painted) Well, can we at least throw some texture on the walls? Flat walls are soo boring. (immaculate, smooth plaster walls)... No.

    .

    That just boils my blood.

    They screw up the walls, and move out a short while later.
    And usually, they have no taste. That's why they pick nasty colors.

    The funny thing is, their reasons are completely illogical. Spraying texture on the walls, then painting over it, will cost lots of and lots of money, which tenants don't have.

    It's much cheaper to decorate the place with pictures and frames than spending money to create one expanse of tan textured walls.

    Anyway, just recently, I got a caller who asked-
    "you don't look at credit score, right? cuz I have awful credit. I'm thinking about filing for bankruptcy"
    I ask why.
    "oh, we spent money recklessly 2 years ago."

    0Reply
  • George P.
    Property Manager · Livonia, MI · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    13y

    "we are church people now".... lol

    i have installed over 50 ft of gas pipe for a gas oven. cost me half a day and $50. got a great tenant out of that that will be there 4 yrs. i have no issues with that.

    2Reply
  • Patrick L.
    Real Estate Investor · Saint Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 951 votes
    13y

    Last week
    Tenant: Can you tell me where the house you have for rent is located?
    Me: I have a couple available right now, where did you see the listing?
    Tenant: The sign in the yard
    Me: It's about 30 feet behind the sign.

    This one is from yesterday, same house.
    Tenant: I need to move in immediately, my lease is up tomorrow and I need to find a new place right away.
    Me: Fill out the application and I'll be able to let you know in an hour or two if you're approved
    .....I check the court records and she's currently being evicted and she's apparently fought it the entire way filing all kinds of motions to hold up it up for almost 3 months. The last entry in the docket:
    05/08/2013 ORDER TO VACATE PREMISES BY 05/10/13. She even filed her own law suit against the landlord with a motion to maintain possession which was ultimately denied but it went to hearing this week. She was very polite when we showed her the place, but public records would indicate she's the tenant from hell.

    40Reply
  • Beth D.
    Grand Rapids, MI · Member since 2013 · 99 posts · 30 votes
    13y

    this thread rocks :)

    3Reply
  • Steve Babiak
    Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Patrick L.:
    Last week
    Tenant: Can you tell me where the house you have for rent is located?
    Me: I have a couple available right now, where did you see the listing?
    Tenant: The sign in the yard
    Me: It's about 30 feet behind the sign.

    ...

    Patrick L. - maybe they previously encountered somebody who does what I was told to do. I was told to put a sing at EVERY house I have in the neighborhood, even the occupied ones; I tell the tenants in the occupied ones that I'm not looking to rent their place, but the one that is vacant nearby. Tenants drive the neighborhood and inevitably see one or more of the signs and will call; I have gotten a number of calls from those who never saw the sign at the one that was actually available. I have no vacancies right now - and I have gotten calls from people looking for a rental - 2 last month, and another the other day; so that also makes people write your number down for later when they start looking. So if you have rentals concentrated in an area, you might want to use that approach.

    4Reply
  • Mike Franco
    Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 555 posts · 261 votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Patrick L.:

    .....I check the court records and she's currently being evicted and she's apparently fought it the entire way filing all kinds of motions to hold up it up for almost 3 months. The last entry in the docket:
    05/08/2013 ORDER TO VACATE PREMISES BY 05/10/13. She even filed her own law suit against the landlord with a motion to maintain possession which was ultimately denied but it went to hearing this week. She was very polite when we showed her the place, but public records would indicate she's the tenant from hell.

    Lucky you.

    Here in California, evictions are not public for 60 days.
    Some courthouses even charge a fee to search records.

    I thought this was free public information...

    3Reply
  • Deborah BurianPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 412 votes
    13y

    George P. People were practically brawling over that house. No need plus I hate the precedent of changing a house for tenant.

    0Reply
  • Loretta A. Steele
    Commercial Real Estate Broker · Moreno Valley, CA · Member since 2008 · 72 posts · 30 votes
    13y

    The entitlement thinking from some potential tenants is priceless. Still laughing...

    3Reply
  • George P.
    Property Manager · Livonia, MI · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Deborah B.:
    George P. People were practically brawling over that house. No need plus I hate the precedent of changing a house for tenant.

    oh, no problem. if i had multiple applications, i'd not change it either. for some reason i always have problems renting them out. but once it's rented, it's long term.

    0Reply
  • Chris DeTreville
    Real Estate Agent · Columbia, SC · Member since 2012 · 112 posts · 106 votes
    13y

    I've got one for the record books. My mother manages a few of her own properties, and she told me this one the other day.

    Younger single mother calls in. My mom tells her she needs to check credit and verify income, etc. The girl tells her she is currently unemployed and had been living with her mother, and doesn't have any way to verify her income. (whatever that "income" was)

    My mom: "sorry, but we can't accept your application, you don't meet any of our requirements"

    girl: "Oh, ok"

    5 minutes goes by

    My mom answers the phone and its the girl again

    girl: "I just thought of something! I can show you my checking account statement! You'll see, I pay my overdraft fee every month!"

    my mom hangs up in stunned silence.

    7Reply
  • Chris DeTreville
    Real Estate Agent · Columbia, SC · Member since 2012 · 112 posts · 106 votes
    13y

    Also, when it comes to pets- I love how people say "I know you hear this all the time, but my dog is the most well behaved dog ever and is crate trained and never causes any damage."

    You're right, I hear that every day, from every single tenant with a dog, and 90% of the time your dog is the spawn of satan.

    I also love how pit owners have learned not to say they own a pit bull. It's always a mix, or a terrier, or some other tricky variation.

    3Reply
  • Roy N.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Fredericton, New Brunswick · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    13y

    My recent one seems pedestrian next to some of these.

    We had listed a unit for its first turnover since we acquired the building. It was so filthy that we had decided to gut and renovate the bathroom rather than attempt to salvage and clean it.

    I am showing the unit to prospects who insisted they wanted to see it right-away before we did any work.

    Me: As I mentioned on the phone, this side of the apartment is still filthy. Since we are planning to gut the bathroom and adjacent laundry area we told our cleaning service not to bother cleaning these areas.

    Prospective Tenant: That's not a problem, it will probably look like this anyway after we've been here a few months.

    17Reply
  • Steve Babiak
    Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Roy N.:
    ...

    Prospective Tenant: That's not a problem, it will probably look like this anyway after we've been here a few months.

    You do have to give some credit there for honesty :)

    3Reply
  • Mike Franco
    Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 555 posts · 261 votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Steve Babiak:
    Originally posted by Roy N.:
    ...

    Prospective Tenant: That's not a problem, it will probably look like this anyway after we've been here a few months.

    You do have to give some credit there for honesty :)

    They probably had no idea how bad it was.

    Most people, no matter how clean they want to be, have dirty bathrooms.

    0Reply
  • Melissa W
    Syracuse, NY · Member since 2011 · 53 posts · 47 votes
    13y

    After 5 years of renting properties, I have a lot of these.

    "I'm going to need to take this wall out to open the place up."
    You're going to need to live elsewhere.

    When asked if previous landlord would be good reference:
    "We didn't get along because I had a constant stream of people coming and going at all hours of the day and night because I was going through rehab and all my friends would come to make sure I was ok."

    When told that we didn't rent to people who had been evicted, even if they ended up staying in the apartment:
    "But I was such a great tenant they filed an eviction on me without telling me so I couldn't find a new place."

    Another person with evictions calling on $400 apartment:
    "I guess you only rent to rich people!"

    Calling from Craigslist ad which has address, map, photos, prices, policies, etc:
    "Where is your apartment and how much is it?" (repeat 1,000,000 times)

    I'm also sick of hearing "can you work with me on the deposit?"

    There was one woman who had her blog linked in her email, so I looked at it and she was a practicing witch who was putting a curse on her current landlord because he wanted them to leave.

    17Reply
  • Rob K.
    Investor · Southeast, MI · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    13y

    One of my pet peeves is when I will tell someone where the house is located and they will ask if it is on the "other" side of Main st. I always ask, "How would I know which side of that road you're currently on?" It's on the east side. I don't know if you're currently east or west of that street.

    I told one lady that the house was south of one road and east of another. She said, "I don't know no north south east west!"

    3Reply
  • Dawn AnastasiPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    13y

    I am renting a property for July 1st so I'm getting the wacky emails. My favorite so far (the rent is $795):

    Hi if this property is still available for August first please let me know and also if it is I would like to pay 700 a month.

    Apparently this person thinks this is "let's make a deal".

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    2Reply
  • George P.
    Property Manager · Livonia, MI · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Dawn A.:
    I am renting a property for July 1st so I'm getting the wacky emails. My favorite so far (the rent is $795):

    Hi if this property is still available for August first please let me know and also if it is I would like to pay 700 a month.

    Apparently this person thinks this is "let's make a deal".

    they think the longer it takes you to rent, the lower the rent will get. kind of like a bad fruit..

    0Reply
  • Dawn AnastasiPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    13y

    George P. - I suppose, but my properties never sit from one month to the next. Perhaps this person is used to dealing with sub-par landlords with low-quality rentals that no one wants?

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    0Reply
  • Robin Grimes
    OP
    Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2010 · 37 posts · 326 votes
    13y

    Recent applicants request while touring the house, which is in Houston Tx:
    "Would you be willing to have gas piped to the house and put in a gas log fireplace and gas stove? Also you will need to install garage door openers." 10 min later... "How negotiable are you on the rent?"

    It's not that these are dumb request, it just irritates me when tenants expect you to do expensive alterations without increasing the rent.

    2Reply
  • Robert Steele
    Investor · Lucas, TX · Member since 2010 · 620 posts · 352 votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Robin Grimes:

    #2
    Middle aged couple with no kids. Wife says “I don’t like the wood floors. If you can put down carpet and repaint to something brighter, we’d be interested. Also you will need to replace the stove.”

    I got something like this too. Brand new carpet in the bedroom and they wanted me to rip it up and install hardwood flooring because they were afraid they would ruin the carpet.

    Another occasion was after a tenant moved out. Note sure how dumb this was but it was definitely unusual. She wanted my social security number so she could issue me a 1099 for all the rent she had paid. Err, no.

    2Reply
  • George P.
    Property Manager · Livonia, MI · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Robert Steele:
    Originally posted by Robin Grimes:

    #2
    Middle aged couple with no kids. Wife says “I don’t like the wood floors. If you can put down carpet and repaint to something brighter, we’d be interested. Also you will need to replace the stove.”

    I got something like this too. Brand new carpet in the bedroom and they wanted me to rip it up and install hardwood flooring because they were afraid they would ruin the carpet.

    Another occasion was after a tenant moved out. Note sure how dumb this was but it was definitely unusual. She wanted my social security number so she could issue me a 1099 for all the rent she had paid. Err, no.

    i had something similar, but they asked me to give them a receipt or something like that for all the rent they paid so that they could use it for their taxes.... no SS#, but similar. i did not know until then that they could claim rent as part of their taxes...

    0Reply
  • Ryan M.
    West, MI · Member since 2012 · 674 posts · 182 votes
    13y

    When they do claim rent on their taxes, you can't have a homestead on that address.

    That was a expensive lesson on a homestead I had forgot to remove.

    0Reply
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