I've seen it for almost every rental. Rentals ranging from 500K to 750K in value. 2.5 to 4K in rent.
People show up with absolutely atrociously misbehaved kids. It's always just ONE kid, never people with multiple. The kid will run and jump on furniture, jump up and down on vents, pull drawers all the way out to the floor. The parents do nothing to stop it. If anything they just look at me and smile while I glare at them.
One time the guys kid as they were leaving (this was after he proceeded to use my furniture and bed as a trampoline and chase my terrified cats) started to run to jump on the dinning room table. I was able to block him in time. The casper milk toast father gave me a disapproving look. YOU'RE IN MY HOUSE MF, YOUR KIDS WILL BEHAVE OR GET OUT.
@Jack B.
You bring cats to a showing?
@Adrienne G. I was wondering something like that as well. When I was managing our rentals we always had so many people apply that I would just tell people we chose someone else. If they pressed and wanted specifics, I would just say something like "we had 4 qualified applicants and had to choose one, unfortunately we didn't choose you". I never received any push back, but I was wondering:
1. What would have happened if I'd told these people the truth (I think you'll destroy the place, you're rude and the neighbors will hate me, I don't like the way you parent your children, etc.)
2. Did I expose myself to problems by answering the way I did? Honestly, I guess I didn't focus enough on laws, etc. so I don't even know the "right" way to turn people down. I'd just say as little as possible...
Ummmm...in my very first sentence, the very beginning of it eve, I noted that I've had this happen for almost every single rental, as in I have a few...I even gave rent and value ranges for the properties....
So not sure how you'd come to that conclusion unless you either didn't read my post or didn't understand any of it.
"I've seen it for almost every rental. Rentals ranging from 500K to 750K in value. 2.5 to 4K in rent."
I guess I got distracted by the cat comment lol
I am also curious about the cats. Did you bring them with or are you renting out your own property that has been owner occupied?
As far as misbehaved kids, it is 100% a reflection of the parents. I have seen people with five kids and every single one is calm and well behaved. Any time I have rented to someone with wild kids, the property had significant damage when they moved out. Responsible parents control their kids and they pay rent on time. If they make no attempt to control them, that is an even worse sign.
One time it was a primary I was converting to a rental and showing while I was still living there. Two others were different rentals I had bought as investments. I'm sure I will see it at a tour for all of my properties at some point.
My favorite are the people who want to run a day care out of the house...Not only no but HELL no...
I agree on the day care. I have had people even offer to pay higher rent to run a day care. I am sure some landlords say yes when teased with money. Aside from me not wanting the wear and tear, I also don't want the liability. My landlord policy specifically says day cares are not allowed. I suspect many landlords are in the same situation, so they should be careful.
@Adrienne G. @Chris John your written criteria can include a section on “demeanor and quality of communication/interaction during the application process”
Perfectly legitimate to rank a group that is tough to deal with (kids or no) as less qualified.
@Adrienne G. I was wondering something like that as well. When I was managing our rentals we always had so many people apply that I would just tell people we chose someone else. If they pressed and wanted specifics, I would just say something like "we had 4 qualified applicants and had to choose one, unfortunately we didn't choose you". I never received any push back, but I was wondering:
1. What would have happened if I'd told these people the truth (I think you'll destroy the place, you're rude and the neighbors will hate me, I don't like the way you parent your children, etc.)
2. Did I expose myself to problems by answering the way I did? Honestly, I guess I didn't focus enough on laws, etc. so I don't even know the "right" way to turn people down. I'd just say as little as possible...
NO, that would not be a problem because you are not saying NO kids period. You are saying not THOSE kids because they are destructive. I have tenants with kids and a giant box with leases of people with kids that rented from me before. I have no problem with renting to people with kids so long as their kids don't destroy my houses. When a child jumps up and down on the heating vents in the floor to destroy them, pulls out drawers on the floor etc. IN FRONT of their parents and they just smile at me while they know they should be on their best behavior because ya know, I'm evaluation them, that isn't a protected "class".
I am also curious about the cats. Did you bring them with or are you renting out your own property that has been owner occupied?
As far as misbehaved kids, it is 100% a reflection of the parents. I have seen people with five kids and every single one is calm and well behaved. Any time I have rented to someone with wild kids, the property had significant damage when they moved out. Responsible parents control their kids and they pay rent on time. If they make no attempt to control them, that is an even worse sign.
One time it was a primary I was converting to a rental and showing while I was still living there. Two others were different rentals I had bought as investments. I'm sure I will see it at a tour for all of my properties at some point.
My favorite are the people who want to run a day care out of the house...Not only no but HELL no...
I agree on the day care. I have had people even offer to pay higher rent to run a day care. I am sure some landlords say yes when teased with money. Aside from me not wanting the wear and tear, I also don't want the liability. My landlord policy specifically says day cares are not allowed. I suspect many landlords are in the same situation, so they should be careful.
If you liked that, you will love my thread about the guy who was growing "medical" pot (no license mentioned) and wanted to rent my house at any price...he needed to tap into the breaker and make some adjustments. Was willing to pay whatever price. Suffice it to say, that quality tenant is still out there in the wild I'm sure. Let me know if you want me to refer him to you, lol.
I ended up renting to 3 programmers, each with a six figure income and one of whom is Ivy League educated (Masters at that).
@Jonathan R McLaughlin and @Jack B.
Thank you for your responses. It's great to know that sanity still exists in the process.
@Jack B.
True story. We ended up finding you tenant perspective tenant later. He learned not to ask questions and:
-Re-did electrical, put "walls" in the house for the grow room, hacked the ac unit, "redid" the garage etc. to grow weed.
-Ran his business for a while. Not sure how long.
-Committed suicide (thank goodness, not in the house! - at least he did us that favor)
-His friends broke in (smashed a sliding glass door), ransacked the place of the weed, equipment, and whatever else they could find to clear the evidence (and keep their loot). Made a complete mess of everything...
Great times! Sheesh. The next door neighbor is my co-worker and loved the guy. Said they were super quiet, respectful, etc. What are ya gonna do? Lesson learned on that one.
I am also curious about the cats. Did you bring them with or are you renting out your own property that has been owner occupied?
As far as misbehaved kids, it is 100% a reflection of the parents. I have seen people with five kids and every single one is calm and well behaved. Any time I have rented to someone with wild kids, the property had significant damage when they moved out. Responsible parents control their kids and they pay rent on time. If they make no attempt to control them, that is an even worse sign.
One time it was a primary I was converting to a rental and showing while I was still living there. Two others were different rentals I had bought as investments. I'm sure I will see it at a tour for all of my properties at some point.
My favorite are the people who want to run a day care out of the house...Not only no but HELL no...
I agree on the day care. I have had people even offer to pay higher rent to run a day care. I am sure some landlords say yes when teased with money. Aside from me not wanting the wear and tear, I also don't want the liability. My landlord policy specifically says day cares are not allowed. I suspect many landlords are in the same situation, so they should be careful.
If you liked that, you will love my thread about the guy who was growing "medical" pot (no license mentioned) and wanted to rent my house at any price...he needed to tap into the breaker and make some adjustments. Was willing to pay whatever price. Suffice it to say, that quality tenant is still out there in the wild I'm sure. Let me know if you want me to refer him to you, lol.
I ended up renting to 3 programmers, each with a six figure income and one of whom is Ivy League educated (Masters at that).
I had a bookie apply one time who told me his business was legal because he paid taxes. I told him I wasn't sure paying taxes on illegally derived income made it legal, but I said show me your taxes. He never did. I had "dancer / entertainer" who said she only has people at her place occasionally, usually she does in-calls. I respect the entrepreneurial spirit and I don't judge others, but I don't need the cops kicking the door down at my rental property. Hard to pay rent when you are in jail. It is that simple for me.
Amen. It's too easy to make a solid amount honestly. Why risk the low hanging fruit for a little extra? So not worth it, in my opinion.
I am also curious about the cats. Did you bring them with or are you renting out your own property that has been owner occupied?
As far as misbehaved kids, it is 100% a reflection of the parents. I have seen people with five kids and every single one is calm and well behaved. Any time I have rented to someone with wild kids, the property had significant damage when they moved out. Responsible parents control their kids and they pay rent on time. If they make no attempt to control them, that is an even worse sign.
One time it was a primary I was converting to a rental and showing while I was still living there. Two others were different rentals I had bought as investments. I'm sure I will see it at a tour for all of my properties at some point.
My favorite are the people who want to run a day care out of the house...Not only no but HELL no...
I agree on the day care. I have had people even offer to pay higher rent to run a day care. I am sure some landlords say yes when teased with money. Aside from me not wanting the wear and tear, I also don't want the liability. My landlord policy specifically says day cares are not allowed. I suspect many landlords are in the same situation, so they should be careful.
If you liked that, you will love my thread about the guy who was growing "medical" pot (no license mentioned) and wanted to rent my house at any price...he needed to tap into the breaker and make some adjustments. Was willing to pay whatever price. Suffice it to say, that quality tenant is still out there in the wild I'm sure. Let me know if you want me to refer him to you, lol.
I ended up renting to 3 programmers, each with a six figure income and one of whom is Ivy League educated (Masters at that).
I had a bookie apply one time who told me his business was legal because he paid taxes. I told him I wasn't sure paying taxes on illegally derived income made it legal, but I said show me your taxes. He never did. I had "dancer / entertainer" who said she only has people at her place occasionally, usually she does in-calls. I respect the entrepreneurial spirit and I don't judge others, but I don't need the cops kicking the door down at my rental property. Hard to pay rent when you are in jail. It is that simple for me.
LOL! You just reminded me of a prostitute who tried to rent a house from me, offered to pay 6 months cash up front. I was suspicious and asked what line of work she was in. Entertainment...I asked her if she was a prostitute, etc. She admitted she was, but she never brings clients to her home. This candidate is still out there in the wind I'm sure, if anyone wants to take her in, please PM me and I'll look for her info hahaha.
Why is everyone so fixated on telling people why you turned them down. From the very first one I show
" you are the third one" or more if need be.
"I am just taking apps. right now."
"I choose someone else" if they press it "they were ahead of you"
NOTHING MORE NEEDS TO BE SAID.
I'm with you on that, but I never accepted money to run background checks until I'd already chosen someone. I'd ask what I'd find on it beforehand and then verify it. I felt like I didn't want to make a couple hundred bucks off of people that I'd inevitably end up disappointing, so not giving them an explanation seemed easy as they weren't in it for anything.
I'm wondering if people are more demanding if you've taken their money but not chosen them. Do people get more upset in those instances? Just curious...
I'm with you on that, but I never accepted money to run background checks until I'd already chosen someone. I'd ask what I'd find on it beforehand and then verify it. I felt like I didn't want to make a couple hundred bucks off of people that I'd inevitably end up disappointing, so not giving them an explanation seemed easy as they weren't in it for anything.
I'm wondering if people are more demanding if you've taken their money but not chosen them. Do people get more upset in those instances? Just curious...
Only once did I have one person ask for their money back...except he lied to me 3 times during the tour when I asked him about criminal and credit history AND on the application he lied on both counts. When I ran him he turned out to have been kicked out of the military, evicted from military housing, a felon for child related sex crimes (sent a girl a dirty pic, she was underage), the list goes on.
He initially tried to claim it was a different person...with the same first, middle and last name, date of birth and SSN I asked him? He then changed his story to it was reduced to a misdemeanor...except he had just printed 2 lines on his home computer saying that. Literally it was just a simple 2 sentences, not even remotely close to official looking, and I pointed that out and the fact that if that was the case the government records would reflect that.
He ended up threatening me. Mind you, I'm a grown man, I'm, let's just say, far from defenseless and used to protect some of the wealthiest executives on the planet for a living. He and his friends were super skinny little losers. I reminded him that he signed the application noting that the application fee was non refundable and that he not only lied on the application but 3 times during the tour when I asked him about credit and criminal history so it was his own fault and trying to go up against me would not work out the way he thinks it will.
I then contacted the Cops, because his application noted an address that was his parents address as his current address. Except when I looked up his sex offender registry, he was listed as homeless. The detectives called me back within an hour and asked for the application, they were super interested and told me they had suspected he was really living with his parents. I presume he was arrested. I never heard from the loser or the police about anything again.
haha. Good times! Man, you really do meet all kinds... Good on you for dodging that bullet.
Why is everyone so fixated on telling people why you turned them down. From the very first one I show
" you are the third one" or more if need be.
"I am just taking apps. right now."
"I choose someone else" if they press it "they were ahead of you"
NOTHING MORE NEEDS TO BE SAID.
While I agree some people are too focused on telling people the truth that they think they are dirty and annoying people and that's why they got denied, in many jurisdictions, you are required by law to tell the applicant that they got denied and why, in a specific format. WA state specifically requires this. I copy the format noted in the statute and usually check the applicable boxes of insufficient credit, incomplete or derogatory references, etc.
I screen them on the phone before I do any showing. Screen them again at the showing and most importantly PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR ATTITUDE. This will till you more than anything on paper. I don't charge a app. fee so I don't have to return anything.
@Jack B.
How many kids do you have? If zero, try not to judge as I’m guessing you can’t actually relate although you may want to think you can...
I was pretty quick to judge before I had one. My 3 year old ranges between an angel to a terror in seconds as his undeveloped brain sees fit which is way more often than I care to admit.
Tantrums and meltdowns are so unbelievably embarrassing especially in public or during first impressions. Sounds like counting to 5 slowly was attempting to avoid the meltdown and it didn’t work. Sucks to be them in this situation.
Guessing rental references or meeting at their current residence (dropping off an application) would be a better way to judge how in control of their children they are or how much damage to suspect than a 1 off meeting. Also paying attention to how clean the kids hands and faces (not clothes necessarily) are can be a good sign of how on it the parents are. Look for the wipes. Dirty hands make a mess in a hurry if left unchecked.
That said I have only rented to 6 inherited tenants with children and it has been a mixed bag from “couldn’t tell there was a child here” to “lots of stickers and dirty fingerprints on each wall 3 feet up.” My house is holding up well to my toddler and was newly renovated before he was born.
Good luck. Just wanted to offer another perspective.
@Jack B.
How many kids do you have? If zero, try not to judge as I’m guessing you can’t actually relate although you may want to think you can...
I was pretty quick to judge before I had one. My 3 year old ranges between an angel to a terror in seconds as his undeveloped brain sees fit which is way more often than I care to admit.
Tantrums and meltdowns are so unbelievably embarrassing especially in public or during first impressions. Sounds like counting to 5 slowly was attempting to avoid the meltdown and it didn’t work. Sucks to be them in this situation.
Guessing rental references or meeting at their current residence (dropping off an application) would be a better way to judge how in control of their children they are or how much damage to suspect than a 1 off meeting. Also paying attention to how clean the kids hands and faces (not clothes necessarily) are can be a good sign of how on it the parents are. Look for the wipes. Dirty hands make a mess in a hurry if left unchecked.
That said I have only rented to 6 inherited tenants with children and it has been a mixed bag from “couldn’t tell there was a child here” to “lots of stickers and dirty fingerprints on each wall 3 feet up.” My house is holding up well to my toddler and was newly renovated before he was born.
Good luck. Just wanted to offer another perspective.
Normal well behaved kids don't jump all over the landlords property and try to break it, and parents who manage kids well don't stand there and just watch it then look at you and grin....regardless of what you think.