Should I accept or reject this tenant?

[Mary Witt]

I received my first rental application, and the candidate has a strong educational background. Most of his career has been spent as an entrepreneur, though he recently secured a well-paying position at a major company. One concern is that he hasn’t had any recent rental history—he’s been living with family for the past four years. (He is in his 30s, I am sure he had rental history before that but it was too long time ago in my opinion)

His credit report shows no late payments on credit cards or loans, although he’s only made a 7% of his student loans in the last four years, and it’s unclear why. He’s eager to move in as soon as possible but is open to delaying by a few weeks if needed.

I have a few more showings scheduled, but no other applications yet. As a first-time landlord, I’m hesitant to move forward without verifiable rental history. At the same time, he seems like a decent person, and I feel conflicted—both about potentially rejecting him and about asking him to wait when he’s trying to relocate quickly from out of town.

I am using an agent to look for tenant for me, she might pressure me to take him...

Any thoughts?

[Mary Witt]

Quote from @Paul De Luca:

@Mary Witt

Personally, I like to see 6-12 months of employment history at their current job. I don't like to see applications where I only get a job offer letter or they just started a month ago.

On the subject of a lack of rental history, I don't necessarily consider this a negative. I've had several first-time renters who were amazing, respectful tenants. Especially these days it's become increasingly common for people in the 20-30+ age range to live with family longer than in the recent past.

What's his credit score? Does he meet the minimum requirements? I would also ask him about his student loan repayment situation.

Verify his employment history, check social media, and background check. If he meets all your rental criteria and he has the best application you have, you should probably move forward. Hopefully you can get some more applications to have options. How long has the property been on the market?

Thanks Paul. His credit score is slightly above 700, seems a decent person from social media, but I will see if I can get more of these questions answered. My unit has been on market for about two weeks, had about 5 showings and one application. Is it normal to ask for an interview even I hire an agent to screen for me?