All Forum Posts by: Aly W.

I had a half Lab, half Irish Setter as a kid and she loved the whole world. Was afraid of other dogs, but loved people and tolerated everything small children would do to her. The point of my post about Labs/and or pit bulls is that my ad specifically says no full grown pet over 20 pounds, and tenants know very well any Lab mix or pit bull mix is going to be over that limit. 

This just in:

Calls about the condo, which states rental history is required. I start asking my standard questions, since no one reads the ad.

Me: Do you have pets?

Caller: A long pause, and then.... "So so". 

Me: What does that mean?

Caller: I have a cat, but if it's a problem, I can leave it here. 

Me: Where is here? Do you have a rental history/landlord references?

Caller: (another long pause) Yeeeeesssss. I live with, um, kind of, a relative. 

Me: And you can verify rent payments?

Caller: You can talk to her if you want. 

Me: Not really, but thanks for calling.  

The condo association has the final approval on a tenant. But in this case, I'm certain it would have been easy to find something else to refuse her for. My application says it can be refused if the applicant does not fill it out completely. 

99% of tenants do not. It's an easy way to refuse one.

But for a good prospect, I will work with them to complete it.

And today's winner! Or loser, as it may be.

Woman calls about our awhich says in two places, IN CAPS - ONE FULL GROWN PET *UNDER* 20 POUNDS OK!

Says she has a puppy, and it's a service animal. I say, of course it is - what kind?

Her: A Labrador

Me: You know the ad says "ONE FULL GROWN PET *UNDER* 20 POUNDS", right?

Her: Yes, but it's just a little puppy

Me: Are you aware that puppies grow up? And that full grown Labs are over 20 pounds? 

Her: Um......yes

Me: Thank you for calling. 

I know any breed of dog can be a sweetheart. I rented a room in a house years ago from a landlord who had a huge Doberman....the '80s equivalent of a pit bull. When anyone rang their bell, the dog would try to hide under a bed. He was given to them for free, because the breeder couldn't sell him. What was the point of having a Doberman afraid of his own shadow? :) 

But my rentals are mostly condos, and my ads specifically say only 1 full grown pet under 20 pounds, per the association that has to approve the tenant. Yet so many try to call their dogs something else, thinking I won't know what kind/size that is. 

 Correct...but they are still considered aggressive dogs by most insurance companies.

@Gwen Fyfe, keep track of all these people and write a book like I'm doing! :)

It's always fun (for a while) to contribute to this thread ;) 

My husband and I have a 2/2 condo in FL for rent now. Among the recent callers, I present these gems.

1. Condo is near 2 colleges. Got a call from a grad student with no job. Says he has a roommate. I ask how he plans to pay the rent and he says his mother (in France) will be paying it. Uh huh. What about the roommate, what does he do, how much does he make? Tenant says "I don't know". Really? 

2. Another tenant with a roommate. Tenant is a blackjack dealer at a nearby casino, has verifiable income but no landlord refs...has been living with her grandmother. What about the roommate, what does he/she doe? "Orly? I don't really know. Something about shopping for yachts." Excuse me? "He does the shopping for yachts in a marina." NEXT!

3. A woman calls, says it will be her, her daughter, her daughter's 2 kids and a dog living there. She's the only one working and makes about $30k a year. NOPE.

4. Multiple people calling from out of Florida, saying they plan to move there/have just moved there, have no jobs or rental histories, but love the condo photos and when can they move in? When it snows in FL - I'll call you.

5. Woman and her boyfriend, says she works, he does not. They have a cat and a small dog. I say that only 1 pet is allowed, but I'd make an exception for another $25 a month. She says she has to check with her boyfriend. I'm thinking, why? He won't be paying the rent. Two minutes later, she calls back, says the dog is an emotional support animal, not a pet, and her boyfriend says they shouldn't have to pay another $25 a month for a cat. "That's not right!" she says. Tell it to your emotional support animal.

6. Guy calls and has a job and 2 pit bulls. I remind him the ad specifically says, right at the top, "one full grown pet under 20 pounds". He laughs and says, "yeah, I thought I'd have trouble with that one."

7. A woman says she has a dog and when I ask what kind, "part staffordshire terrier, part Jack Russell". I ask point blank, it is a pit bull? "Well, yes". WELL, NO!

8. A guy from out of state (strike 1) says he's moving to FL, about to start a new job. I ask for rental refs. Nope, says he owned his own home for years. I ask for previous employment verification. Nope, he had his own company for years, which failed....that's why he's moving (strike 2, and probably 3).  I tell him he'd have to pay first, last and security deposit and pass the background check. He says he likes an up-front business owner like myself, he respects that, and decides a larger deposit sounds fair after all. He says he'll call back. Great, I'll be waiting.

9. Guy from Nebraska, says he's getting married in July and they want to move to FL and go to grad school. No jobs, but can I hold the condo until they get here? Sure, consider it a wedding gift. 

Plenty more, but I'm tired and I can't believe I actually spent time on the phone with these people ;)

@Joe Splitrock is right. I've had the same experiences. When someone says they have a dog and I ask what kind, there is either a hesitant pause while they consider a different name for the pit bull, or they say it's a mixed breed. If they can name only one of the mixed breeds and it's not a pit bull, I already know it is. No one ever says pit bull, or even Staff terrier. I had someone call a Cane Corso an Italian Mastiff, thinking I wouldn't know the difference. As a last resort, I've even had someone tell me the dog is a support/therapy animal and I would have to accept it. I tell them to have that discussion with my insurance company. 

Luckily, most of our rentals are condos and the condo associations prohibit any dog over 20 pounds full grown. And when an applicant argues with that (and they have tried), I tell them to discuss it with the association. 

And while I'm aware that any dog can bite and be aggressive, neither myself nor my repair people are likely to be killed or maimed by a chihuahua.

Ok, I think today's tenant inquiry is going to be in the first chapter of my future book. This is for a condo rental in Florida.

An inquiry from someone who argued (in a text) that running his background check twice (I would do it once, and then if I approve him, the association would do it as well), would pile up the credit inquiries for him. Says he's a financial consultant and that he would have no trouble getting approved by the condo association.

I texted back that as a financial consultant, he should know that a criminal background/eviction check is a soft hit on the credit report and has no affect on his score....which we're not checking anyway. He then told me he has a felony charge from 2005 for "Driving While License Revoked - Habitual", and that he had his license suspended 3 times in 5 years in Florida. Says he received a clemency letter in 2007 and currently bears arms. 

He also believes in transparency, which I guess is why his next revelation was being arrested for burglary and battery in 2002, after being caught in someone's bedroom. I swear, you can't make this stuff up, and since I'm collecting stories like this for my future book, I let it go on a bit.

I texted back that the condo association would not approve him. He asked why, since he grosses $6400 a month (and he included a screen shot of a pay stub), and why should this matter from 17 years ago? I didn't bother to tell him that 2002 was only 15 years ago, you know, since he's a financial consultant and should be able to count. And with that kind of income, why doesn't he just buy something?

I wished him luck in his search for a home. He replied that he doesn't like being judged by people who make less money than he does, but closed with "God Bless".