All Forum Posts by: Royce Talbo

@Bill S. thanks this is exactly the kind of response I was looking for not just the you are going to get into trouble if you don't do it this way by people I don't know who probably heard from a friend of a friend. I will definitely look into that evictions court hopefully I can see a good case and see how bad it can actually get.

@Russell Brazil that was one of my points why dont I go with the better applicant and not just the first one that met the qualifications.  

@Bill S. I am still not 100% on this not holding up in court, but like I said above times are changing and I should change and start writing down my points system.  It will make it easier just incase this does happen.

@Richard C. I think you got me all wrong I am not argue against the advice I welcome it, I just want to know why.  like why is it on the landlord when it should be on the tenant isnt our system base on innocent until proven guilty?  so wouldnt the tenant have to show that I was guilty instead of me proving I am innocent?  Like russell brazil said I should pick the better applicant, but others said I have to go in order of who came first that met the qualifications.  In court I would present them both applications and show them that this one who I picked looked better on paper than the one who is accusing me of discrimination regardless of the other things I may have discriminated about them off paper.  These are what I am asking, why do I need to do this why do I need to do that, not no I dont want to hear it, Im going to do what I want to do.  As I stated above I will start writing down my points system just incase.

@Bill S. Thanks for joining in, my thinking is that if it comes to that proving I didnt discriminate, it shouldnt be that difficult if multiple applicants met the qualifications. All the other things we discriminate against I just didnt write down, but would be able to explain in court.  I do have a points system but just in my head not written down.  The messy car rule is one that I always use.  The other about cars that I have is no more than 3 cars.  I guess I should start writing it down my points system just in case this ever does happen to make things easier.  

People in Hawaii are very laid back and noone really sued anyone until the past couple decades.  Suing someone was looked upon as cowardly and people used to handle their own business.  Now people are so fast to take legal action and try to get money.  I guess times change and what worked for my family all these years might not work for me.  

I googled the discrimination on convicts and you are correct it is only illegal if they fall under title VII protected individual and puts them at a significant disadvantage. If they are just a convicted felon you can discriminate against that.

@David S. thanks for joining in. The HUD thing I looked into, its actually 2 people per room are allowed and they also consider the living room as a room so technically you can have up to 8 people in a 3 bedroom. So can't discriminate there. Yes we have a great rental market here but high priced properties leaves little to no cash flow unless you are lucky or buy c or d class areas. For the past 5 years this is how I have done it and this is how my parents and grand parent done it without any eviction or law suits in 30 years. So I don't think I need to raise the bar as we always find good tenants by not saying much, observing and going with our gut.

@Matthew Olszak I get what you are saying, but say the first applicant has 7 people in their family for a 3 bd Single family residence, barely makes the 3 times income/rent rule, has a sloppy car that they dont take care of, is rude, and has a steady job.  You can call up their previous landlord but it is illegal for them to say anything bad about them to prevent them from getting another place to live just like with jobs.  So do you give it to them because they are the first come first serve that met your qualifications or do you go with the second applicant that has 3 people makes more than the 3 times income/rent rule, is very polite, and takes care of their appearance as well as their car? You know from experience which one will take care of your place better and give you less problems.  Yes you cant discriminate against these things legally and you cant say I didnt want them because of the previous landlords comments which were nothing because he can say anything bad.  My point is how will they find out they are being discriminated against if you dont say anything about it, you just observe.  As far as when each application was received, how would that potential tenant know that they were first before another tenant? With a job application, I have seen it happen many times where an applicant comes in and he was convicted of something previously, he has the same experience as the others maybe more than some, but he did not get the job because of that conviction.  It is illegal to do that, but it happens everyday that is why they have a hard time finding a job.  Same reason why bad tenants have a hard time finding a place even though they meet the requirements, there is always someone better.

@Andrey Y. No I dont have a screening service, I do it myself.  Just the standard screening plus little things I picked up over the years.  @Meg K. I know what we can and cant discriminate about for the most part, but for the things we want to that is illegal how do they prove it?  For example Sec 8 tenants, many people put on their listing no sec 8, but they are not supposed to.  I dont put that I just kindly tell them we found someone else if they call back on the status of their app.  If they meet all the minimum requirements that I screened over the phone why do I have to pick them over someone else that has met the same requirements that I like better.  How would they prove that I didnt want them just because they are discriminated against unless I say something like no sec 8 or other illegal discriminating things?  How do any businesses decide who gets the job if all applicants meet the minimum qualifications?  Its just how they feel.  I can see it working if they are the only qualified applicant and you choose not to go with them because of the thing you are discriminating about, but if you have multiple applications how would they even have a case?  Again this might lead back to location and that Hawaii has a huge rental pool with zero vacancies while mainland properties do not.

I have been noticing there are a lot of posts asking about can I discriminate against this or that.  I always thought of tenant screening as a job interview and I am the employer.  I would phone screen them, if they meet the minimum qualifications I would then set up a showing.  At the showing I would get them to fill out an app if I liked them or if they asked.  Upon leaving I would inform them that I have several other showings and that if I don't get back to them by certain day it means I went with someone else.  This way I dont have to deal with the problems of can I discriminate on this or that.  If I feel that they dont fit the property, I just say we went with someone else.  No need for explanation just like a Job interview.  

Am I wrong on this? Am I missing something?  I'm pretty sure I dont need to disclose why I didnt pick them.  Besides majority of renters are looking at multiple properties.  I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't go after you just to see why they didnt get the place and try to file legal action, they would just move on to the next place.

So if my way of doing things correct why are there so much questions on can I discriminate against this or that when tenant screening?  I can see if they asking about lease questions but screening I don't really understand.  Is it because tenants are few and far between? Here is Hawaii maybe we are just spoiled but for my last showing I had about 15 people call me on a Friday when I listed it and showed it to 9 people on Sat and Sun, checked background Sun Night and Mon morning, got them to sign Mon afternoon.  I know this is not typical for the mainland but if you expand your time line from 1 weekend to 1 month when you get the notice from your tenants that they are vacating, I would think you get the same amount of inquiries.  

@Aleksey Vinogradov First off I'm an animal lover.  I typically let my tenants have smaller pets that are house trained.  It gives me a better rental pool because most places dont allow for pets.  I just state that they need to have the place professionally cleaned when they vacate and if any damages happen then I will take it out of their deposit.  Like most said above there are certain restrictions to types of dogs you are covered by insurance.  Personally I would say no as a month is a little long. If it was for a week then I would probably let them.
@Alexander Felice How do you not have warped water logged floors? Did you seal them with something? I got pergo max something something that is very durable, no scratches from the dog or dragging the couches around, but is really sensitive to liquids.  I would think the better choice for rentals with pets are vinyl planks. 

@Kahanu Noa Well here it is the department of planning and permitting.  There I think its just the department of planning http://www.co.maui.hi.us/index.aspx?NID=1123

I also found this link for codes for maui https://www.municode.com/library/hi/maui_county/co...

Not sure how accurate that is since its not directly from the county, but you should look it over and then call up the planning dept. and give them the TMK. They will be able to help you with what the ordinance is talking about, what is permitted and what is not, easements, and what is allowed per the zoning codes.  I have never dealt with AG because it seems like more hassle than buying a res parcel like restrictions, tax rates, exemptions etc.  If you end up getting it LMK the process of how it all worked out and if it is easier than I thought.

@Kahanu Noa

If the codes are same as Oahu then I'm guessing you are in a ag-2 zoning with only 4 acres and 2 dwellings unless it was grandfathered in.  Anyway age of the house does not matter too much, its the condition and type of materials that are used that matter.  You see a lot of single wall homes that go for same price as double walls because they update the kitchen, bathroom, etc.  If you use cost approach for the building it will cost more to rebuild a single wall than a double because of the redwood T&G vs cheap 2x4, drywall and masonite siding. 

As for lot size a few thousand feet shouldnt matter in AG.  For ag-2  2 acres would be the base and anything more would be rated at a lower rate once they hit another 2 acres they might be rated higher, but not at the same as the base rate unless it is allowed to subdivide.  Think of it like a house if you have 2 bathrooms as your base in a 3 bedroom house is the norm.  If each bathroom is worth say $15k then you add another bathroom would the market pay another $15k for a 3rd bathroom and another $15k for a 4th bathroom? probably not, so it is not worth as much because it is not as useful.  

So unless you are actually using it for ag and going down to price/sqft to utilize crops then it shouldnt matter too much. It all depends on condition of the house and usefulness of the land, not so much on how big the land is or how old the house is, unless it is way different.