Would you rent to them?

Would you rent to them?

Member since 2021 · 388 posts · 277 votes

Nice A class property in a great location. Part of HOA. Priced slightly below the market.

Prospective tenants: Completely tatted nurse, her boyfriend who has "his own business making lots of money" and his 3 children from  previous relationship(s). He shares their custody so they are expected to visit 2 weekends per month.

They came in, opened the door without ringing the bell, the man and his children did not greet me, they went upstairs, in 3 minutes they were there children were running and jumping like mad becasue the flooring was making all sort of sounds. After they looked at the place for 3 minutes the man and his children left and the tatted girlfriend kept repeating "the place is cute". She wanteed to know how many apps I already have and the conversation was awkward and unnatural. These 3 children are not related to her and she kept repeating that the present landlords treats them as "dependents". I do not know about the dependents because I am not the IRS but they are either guests or occupants per my contract. I am uncertain why I should allow these children to live with someone who is unrelated to them and be potentially liable in a future for their well being. Overall this couple seems to have too many complex issues and I will let them look somewhere else. I did not like their characters and I do not believe this will be a good relationship. Too many red flags. And yes, I really do not get a good feeling about tatted head to toe women and people with weird hair colors and piercings. These all point to psychological issues.  I do not need social justice warriors in my place. 

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Real Estate Broker · Rochester Hills, MI · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y

Hey Kar, you may want to reread your post in a day or two.  It really doesn't matter if I would rent to them or not, you clearly, and I mean clearly do not want to rent to them.  No judgement here by the way, you should trust your gut and your gut is clearly telling you that you should not rent to them. 

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  • Naperville, IL · Member since 2018 · 330 posts · 357 votes
    5y

    @Travis Frenchak  apparently it's OK unless you are a woman....

  • Wale LawalBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Houston | Dallas | Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    After prescreening a tenant, some landlords like to build their rapport with potential tenants via phone. Always trust your gut.

  • NYC/NORTH JERSEY · Member since 2021 · 16 posts · 7 votes
    5y

    @Bruce Woodruff lol so your judge mental because of tattoos sounds discriminatory to me

  • Joe SplitrockPro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
    5y

    I agree with @John Underwood that you should let them apply if they indicate they want to. Simply refusing to let someone apply to rent your property can be seen as discriminatory. 

    The children are not random, they are related to the boyfriend, who would be a co-applicant. You could refuse to rent to roommates, but that needs to be a policy for anyone applying. If you only refuse to rent to roommates with children, that would be seen as discriminatory. If you have a no roommate policy, that should be in your listing. Also be aware that some states consider boyfriend and girlfriend to be "family" and those states have additional protections for "marital status". It is actually common for couples to live together before getting married or even for couples to never get married. Still, you are correct that Federal Fair Housing doesn't protect boyfriend and girlfriend. Legally speaking the boyfriend didn't even have to disclose the children to you, because it should have no bearing on your decision.

    Extreme tattoos, weird piercings or hair color can be a sign of bad choices or misfit mentality. Misbehaving children can be a reflection on the parents and speaks to their level of responsibility. Self employment can be an issue, because it is harder to substantiate. I don't necessarily disagree with your rejection, just make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. The children should not be a reason. If your reason is "I didn't like they way they looked" or "I didn't like their attitude", those are very subjective reasons so just be careful. 

    It is also important to be aware that HUD hires "testers" to identify discrimination.

  • Ben ScottPro Member
    Property Manager · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2019 · 577 posts · 351 votes
    5y

    If you have a Class A property, you should watch and find a Class A tenant. The tats wouldn't bother me but the lack of respect to you would.

  • Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    "The women was fine and passed all my pre-qualification questions. However, no pre-qual questions show person's character better than seeing them face to face. Must see them in person. "

    -------------------------------------------

    Your posts are disjointed. You are going to have a woman AND a man as lessees. but you only talk about HER qualifications. What are HIS qualifications? HE has to be on the lease if he's living there, which means HE has to fill out an application and give the details of his business complete with paystubs, etc.

    And the children are occupants if they will be there on a regular basis.

    Too many red flags -- hard pass. And the tats are irrelevant.

  • Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    @Kar Sun,

    No-- if I were in your shoes, I would not rent to them. 

    Personally, I couldn't care less about the tattoos, but if there kids are running everywhere, it shows lack of control/respect.   I only rent to people I like, and that I get a good vibe.   I like working with people who show me mutual respect.  If they kept asking about the other applications, it shows they are nervous and maybe aren't the strongest (they know what's going to show up).    I watch body language, I observe how they interact with each other, how their kids act, everything will give you subtle clues about who they really are, and how they live their life. 

    Tenants pay for the background checks with us, we don't.   It shows they want to have skin in the game.

     If it's an A property, why in the world would you rent to them?!   A-type houses should be the cream of the crop tenant wise, don't take anything less.

  • Nathan FisherBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2020 · 306 posts · 261 votes
    5y

    Tattoos don't matter, kids don't matter. Provable income and how they would treat the property do.

    Give them a rental application. Don't deny them because of family status. You can deny them because they were unpleasant and they would have to show tax records on the business, or you can deny for not having an income.

    Follow fair housing guidelines. 

  • Bruce WoodruffPro Member
    Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Anthony Ocasio:

    @Bruce Woodruff lol so your judge mental because of tattoos sounds discriminatory to me

     Judgmental? Maybe...but you just judged me...LOL 

  • Investor · Singapore · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    5y

    Wow, Judgmental much? You are not the woman parents or husband. It is not your job or role to judge her hair, tattoos or lifestyle. You cannot discriminate based on family (i.e number of children) or marital status. The question only is whether she is qualified for the apartment. The disrespect and poor communication is the only valid concern I can see here. But from reading this you seem like one of those landlords who would control every aspect of your tenants life like an overbearing parent. Maybe Im wrong but this post would certainly indicate that! 

  • NYC/NORTH JERSEY · Member since 2021 · 16 posts · 7 votes
    5y

    @Bruce Woodruff facts I did because what you and the gentlemen who posted this thread is disturbing someone’s appearance , race , religion shouldn’t play any factor who cares if they have tattoos ???

  • Vacaville, CA · Member since 2019 · 218 posts · 140 votes
    5y

    @Kar Sun

    Nope

  • Catskill, NY · Member since 2018 · 636 posts · 668 votes
    5y

    No, I wouldn't rent to them and I think you already knew it wasn't a good idea. The tattoos and the three "unrelated to her children" aren't the issues. It's the lack of respect and arrogance he showed. Also, when someone says they own a business and make a lot of money, but don't tell you what it is, it's probably not legal. I'm sure he's in the distribution business and may very well make a lot of money, but with it comes some serious potential issues.

  • Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    @Kar Sun you should meet my tatted up veteran buddies, would you judge them the same way? The navy lifted restrictions on tattoos because roughly 1/3 of people eligible to join have body modification of some kind, and they realized if they immedialty discounted a third of the population, you mathematically prevent yourself from finding all possible top candidates. With the way you are approaching people, I might question doing business with you....

  • Rental Property Investor · Red Bank, NJ · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    They haven't even begun my vetting process...And I have doubts about you rating the property an A and under market.

    A potential tenant does not walk onto my property without completing a preliminary application (as well as partner) and being informed of the requirements of a background check and credit check which they will have to complete if they want to move forward after a walk through. This weeds out a lot of flakey and/or unqualified applicants.

    In my market, more and more applicants are completing everything via Zillow (as it is transferrable to multiple applications) and some are walking in with everything already completed. 

    You need to set up a filter between what is in your head and what you share. You need to set up a rigorous application process with proper vetting... This should be expected and welcomed in an A&B market.

    If you continue down your path you will have problems.

  • Daniel SmythPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2019 · 471 posts · 342 votes
    5y

    @Kar Sun

    Didn't need to read it all before I decided that I would choose another.

    This is different than "not renting" to these people. We need to consider vocabulary that helps defray law suits.

    I can choose who I rent to. I never choose who I do NOT rent to.

    Just remember that your tenant prospects are always at their BEST behavior when looking for a place. Understand that after the deal is done, you will get actual tenants that no longer need to look good!

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