All Forum Posts by: Mattie Covatch

I second the "tell them your process and screening fees upfront."

If she says "am I paying for this," she just sounds annoying. Be glad she didn't move into your house, she sounds like a PITA. If she can't afford a $35 credit check, how can she cough up $1600 in rent?

I would screen with SmartMove and check rental references/credit.

I don't think I would ask for pay stubs and bank statements. Someone making great money today could be fired tomorrow, and someone making great money may pay everything but their rent. I would check references and search local court records for collections/evictions on your own (without requesting it from them) instead. It's reasonable to ask for pay stubs/bank statements, but SmartMove and verifying job/credit/rental references should be enough... in my opinion.

Also, I would not say "well, I'm showing it to 2 other people..."
Just hand her an application. Tell her to take it home, fill it out, and bring it back. If you get multiple applications, figure out how you want to screen them and choose a candidate. Have set standards of what applications you approve.

Remember....

A tenant who can't be "bothered" by an average screening process and gets annoyed from the start is going to be a tenant who gets annoyed and whines about EVERYTHING later on.

Remember....

By letting someone move into your home, you're doing them a favor by giving them a nice place to live. They're paying for the privilege, but you have the right to have reasonable screening to protect your house.

If someone can't complete your simple application, do you really want them as a tenant anyway?

Did she say she had a 800 credit score? Unless you saw it, I would assume she was hiding something on her credit.

I've been asked to fill out more than what you asked to live somewhere. Asking for smartmove.com isn't asking too much. I rarely was asked for pay stubs/etc. as a tenant. I'm not sure if I ever was, in fact. But, if someone wants to come into YOUR home, they shouldn't mind basic tasks like this.

If they won't follow a simple screening process, let them go. They're probably hiding something, or petty/arrogant and feel above the process. It's not like you're asking for a full background check, tons of references, etc. It's a credit check. I bet she was hiding something. Who knows if she really was in the "upside" on her house or not. Could have been a foreclosure or short sale.

I've never asked a prospective landlord if high-speed internet was available at the property before. I doubt you would be asked if internet is available there. Tenant wouldn't realize it until move in.

I don't think it's a landlord's job to provide internet or see if internet is available. Internet isn't a right, or a utility. If they want internet, they can find their own solution-- mobile hot spot, dish internet, or whatever else.

A few tenants might not want internet at home, though most would. Even so, it's their responsibility to obtain service where they live. It's not like there's no electricity or water at the property-- it's just no internet (a luxury service) yet.

Dish or mobile hot spot might be the way to go.

I have one tenant who's been here a long time, before I started not officially including internet. Now I say "I sometimes share mine with people as a courtesy, but it's not included-- if the person makes my internet go out, I stop sharing."

Should a landlord ever offer internet?

In roommate situations?

In apartment settings?

[b]Is it too much of a hassle and liability risk to even consider it?[b]

I'm in a roommate situation, and having each person buy their own seems not necessary. But, I don't enjoy whiney tenants complaining about slow internet because they're downloading/streaming too much Netflix or junk.

Do you offer internet? Why or why not?

Brian Hoyt

Do you have to give them the new keys only if they pay the back rent?

If they don't have to pay and still get access, what would the point be?

Wow. A landlord encouraging trespassing on his property? Weird.

I heard of a friend of a friend saying they once posted an ad telling people to knock on their ex-husband's door at 8 a.m. on a Saturday for free things. People showed up. The ex-husband was woken up early over and over again.

I knew someone who moved by doing this. They posted a photo of their apartment, and said "come get it all." They were present giving the stuff away.

"No pets."

You still have to accept service animals.

"No children" -- you can't do that, unless you're a roommate or PERHAPS if you live on the property and it's only 3 other units?? Check on this. Even then, if you have some way to legally exclude them, never ever say "no children."

You MIGHT be able to limit occupancy per bedroom, depending on your city.

"No smoking of any substance on property or grounds."

What about "medical" marijuana?
Are we now obligated to accept that ridiculousness?

Oh, and thanks everyone.

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.

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.