New York City, NY · Member since 2012 · 77 posts · 11 votes
I had a new tenant (roommate) want to move in same day. I said a Thursday move-in is what I'm looking for. I told this person that I would send them the rental application. They said they had people that could vouch for them-- I said I didn't need personal references, just the rental app itself. I thought I sent it yesterday, but they say they didn't get it so I resent it.
This person says they're living with a significant other right now. This person owns a house that they rent out. I already verified this. They got the house i marital breakup. I even looked up the divorce to see if there was one -- there was. It's a fairly good priced house, so they get pretty good rental income from it. Their house is almost the price of my house. They are essentially self-employed in a services field with a business office. I verified office address, but not income or bank statements.
The homeownership is great. Them wanting to move-in same day is what makes me wonder if something is off.
Are they trying to rush moving in simply because they don't want to live with their current significant other, or they trying to move in without being screened? Are they trying to move in and bounce a check?
Do I 100% need to check their credit? Since they've owned their house for several years now, there likely won't be landlord references that I can call.
All caveats apply and you should still do your diligence, but I have been in this situation twice and it has nothing to do with me being a poor renter.
The first time, I was moving into a new town and staying in a hotel. Obviously I wanted to move in asap to keep costs down. The second time this has happened is right now. I lost my job and my wife's apartment lease is running out from before we were married. We have to vacate this place quickly so we need to find a new place quickly.
Again, do your due diligence on this, but there are valid reasons to needing to move in right away.
I've had a few so-called "homeowners" inquire to rent my vacancies. Let's discuss some of the ways that they might make bad renters. Are they paying their monthly housing payment? That is equivalent to asking a renter do they pay their rent on time. The "homeowners" often have not been making that housing payment, which then begs the question: If they aren't making their housing payment for their own ownership, what makes you think they will make that housing payment for some other owner?
Basically, these "homeowners" have their names on a deed, but it probably isn't a house that they will be continuing to pay for ...
I did have one homeowner look who had a house fire, and the re-build was going to take long enough that they would have to find a place to rent; but other than that, they are the typical "about to be foreclosed" types.
You missed my point entirely, Steve. People with great income, great credit, perfect references & stable relationships aren't commonly renting rooms.
Due to the fact, I was driving and responding to forum post (which doesn't work well obviously). I missed a few key points, one of them being a roommate vs a full house tenant.
Perhaps, it may be extreme, and I see your point, which is based on your experience on being on the other end of the arrangement.
This particular person is self employed, has no prior landlords, is hesitant on filling out the rental app, and is in a rush to move in....
I definitely know I am bias after having the numerous episodes I've gone through as a landlord throughout the years, and in this particular case I would run this person through the ringer if not just deny them outright....
Although this is a little different in a roommate situation, as a Landlord you have the professional obligation to thoroughly and completely checkout their entire story especially when its off to begin with...
If they dislike it, then perhaps they should get their life together. and was this really the person you wanted in your place anyway?
But for self-employed, 2 years of tax returns is pretty much the way to go; have them make copies for you, and have them complete a 4506T from the IRS so that you can confirm that the figures on the copy agree with what the IRS received.
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Steve Babiak
Is there a long waiting period for Form 4506T to be processed/confirmed by IRS?
But for self-employed, 2 years of tax returns is pretty much the way to go; have them make copies for you, and have them complete a 4506T from the IRS so that you can confirm that the figures on the copy agree with what the IRS received.
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Steve Babiak
Is there a long waiting period for Form 4506T to be processed/confirmed by IRS?
Could be 10 days or longer; some services claim they can do it faster. So it depends. See these next two links:
Again, part of the reason for getting that form completed is to verify that the photocopies of the tax returns that the applicant gives you are accurate; an applicant is less likely to falsify the copies when they know you're checking.
This person ended up not getting me the completed app. All this, and they said they wanted to move in several days ago.. and I have no finished app or money in hand. I guess my app saying "money order or cash only for rent and deposit" and requiring them to fill out an app scared them away.
I don't get it. It goes from "I can move in today even" to saying they had people who could vouch for them... to stalling filling out application... to not completing application. The application is, what, 5 lines long? So simple.
I think I'm better off without them. Could've been a scam, or just very flaky.
The nature of other income. The fact that children may be on ADT medications. The fact tenants may have pets. Crimes committed as a youth can be concealed. A tenant may be in the witness protection program. Sometimes a spouse has been battered and is fleeing from the situation. There are lots of things that will not necessarily come up in a background check.
Many times that don't or shouldn't influence the tenant selection process, but still can lead to problems. One of these tenants caused the greatest amount of property damage I've ever had. The tenant was a model tenant for years and I noticed no problems when I collected the rent and inspected part of the house. Things changed though and I won't discuss it in a public forum.
This person ended up not getting me the completed app. All this, and they said they wanted to move in several days ago.. and I have no finished app or money in hand. I guess my app saying "money order or cash only for rent and deposit" and requiring them to fill out an app scared them away.
I don't get it. It goes from "I can move in today even" to saying they had people who could vouch for them... to stalling filling out application... to not completing application. The application is, what, 5 lines long? So simple.
I think I'm better off without them. Could've been a scam, or just very flaky.
Or, if the potential room-mate actually *has* good credit & real income, they had other choices & didn't feel like getting put through an invasive wringer, or waiting around for ten days + while you dinked around & called ex's, bosses, & third-grade teachers for references.
I'm renting single-family homes, not rooms - but I can get the info & make a decision quickly - often the same day, perhaps the next day. So can most other landlords and apartment complexes.
Don't forget that your tenant is interviewing you while you're interviewing them, especially in a room-mate situation. You're *selling* something, and the tenants you want have choices.
While the grizzled opinions of some of the burnt-out landlords here are worth considering, don't forget the grizzled opinions of burnt-out tenants. Experienced tenants may have had deposits taken wrongfully by previous landlords, landlords who refused to fix things, and most-importantly, landlords who were all up in the tenant's business.
I'm going to step against the grain here and admit something that breaks all the "rules"... I've taken a check for a move-in deposit from a tenant before. Done it more than once, actually. If the tenant is 760+, with good credit & a verifiable job (with some time there) they're "collectible" - in my state, I will get my money, or they'll have to quit their job & leave the state.
If you look at the approval process for the big complexes in your area, a good credit history & a stable job will often get you a $99 deposit & ASAP move-in, without much "hand-wringing" on the part of the property manager. That's who you're competing with for *good* tenants.
You might be "better off" without this particular room-mate, but you might have also scared off a good tenant by demanding cash for move-in and appearing to be an "in-your-face" landlord. It's a balancing act, and it's easy to be "Joe Harda$$", multi-billionaire-landlord, fills-every-vacancy-the-same-day-with-800 fico tenants-who are rocket-scientists that don't smoke, have pets, cook with curry, or defile my toilets by pooping in them.
Mark H. glad to hear that you live in a landlord friendly state. I happen to know that the tenants looking for rental homes in my area aren't generally wanting to find an apartment. There willing to pay more for a garage, yard, more distance from others that might be noisy, etc. In general I don't see apartments as competition to my SFRs. Now if someone remodeled a SF home nearby and offered a $99 move-in special that would be a different story. Not seeing that happen in my neighborhoods though.
I rarely have problems finding or placing tenants these days, but I've been at it for about 20 years.
Tenants do want a quick decision and they do have options. Typically though they leave themselves some time to find a new place though. When they have to move in ASAP there usually is a reason and it quite likely isn't a reason that benefits a landlord. In the past I might have been excited by a tenant that can pay first, last and deposit up front in cash to move in tomorrow. These days it takes less to move in and waving cash doesn't have the same effect.
Nothing wrong with streamlining your tenant screening process and allowing for a quick decision actually I like to turn applications around in a day.
Landlords have to decide what there tenant screening criteria will be. As a landlord gains experience the screening criteria can and should change. In my case I don't care if they've had major medical issues and not paid all their medical bills as long as they have sufficient income and have a good history of paying there rent. The FICO score means nothing to me when evaluating tenants.
All I asked for on the original application they got was 2 landlord references, job/income info, and deposit/rent in cash if they wante to move in the next day. If that scares them away, good.
For some reason they were trying to avoid filling out an application that I said was short and quick before even seeing it, instead seeing they had people who could be references. I don't even ask for personal references. I was even going to allow a move-in quick like I told them, but I require an application and 1st month/deposit money order or cash.
This person wasn't verifiable with good credit and verifiable job like your tenants. If they had both those verifiable, I would've been less suspicious. If they didn't want to move in same day in a few hours, I wouldn't have been suspicious. If they said they had friends who could be references and wanting to avoid the incredibly short application altogether from the start, I wouldn't have been suspicious. This person had no verifiable income (said they were newly self-employed) and no landlord references (owned home, but rented it out because they couldn't afford it). They wanted the same day move-in within an hour. If this person was willing to complete the app, had a verifiable job/references, and didn't seem trying to avoid the whole process, I probably wouldn't have been suspicious and may have even let them move in the next day. They told me about themselves (living with their date, owned a home, self-employed), but had nothing verifiable.
Nearby rentals require deposits of one months rent, no matter your credit here. And, they require a full background check in this area. I've lived at those places in my area, and they require all sorts of stuff- background check, personal references, credit check, plus cashier's check or money order as the deposit. Well, the nice places do. I can't imagine what I *told* them being scarier than all the apartment requirements. I didn't tell them "fill this out, then I need to talk to your ex-" etc.
I see where you're going with this anyway, and had any of their story been verifiable or had they not been so avoidant of any rental application, I might have done it too (but with the money order or cash). If they had the great job/references and didn't seem so suspicious and avoidant, I probably would've taken a check for the deposit. I have taken them before, too, and hadn't been burned. But, my previous tenants didn't want to move in a few hours later and never hesitated on filling out an app. Maybe this one would've been ok, but avoiding an easy rental app with no references or verifiable job wanting to move in 2 hours later...
I did find someone else. That person asked for the application before I mentioned there was one, filled it out in about 2 minutes, and had no problem with it. Approved, paid, etc. quick and painlessly. They'll move in December 1.
I should say, my deposit isn't a full months rent or full and last. It's a few hundred bucks. If I was renting out a whole house and required a larger deposit, that would likely change things.
Charles Perkins
I do think people wanting to live in a house want a house, not an apartment. In fact, this suspicious person told me that the nearby apartments were so expensive and required year-long leases, if not 2 years. I allow short-term leases, and offer cheap rent... in a house, not apartment. This person might have been legit and maybe my "money order or cash" policy scared them off, but moving in a few hours and avoiding a app, I can't imagine their reason being good for me. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt since they did indeed own a verifiable house. I think more like you about most tenants leaving themselves some time to find a new places, or at least having a verifiable landlord reference/job. If they just moved to the city for a new job, or had a house burn down, something like that, those could be verified and good reasons to move quick.
I got a new tenant moving in December 1. New tenant had no problem filling out application. Easily verified and done deal. Previous suspicious tenant flaked.