All Forum Posts by: Kimberly H.

While serving, some were crying, pleading and most were angry. (I kept reminding myself of how they were treating the property) I told them that this is only business, not personal, and that they can re-apply when we finished the renovations. None took us up after reading our criteria sheet.

Sometimes we have to make hard decision to protect and build our RE business.

how did u feel afterwards?  Im new to this.  In nj.  

$750 for car payments?!?!?!?!

I can sooo relate to this! @Kimberly H. I was emotional about potential tenants and even actual tenants when I first started as a landlord.

I used to worry about how people would make it if I didn't give them a chance,  would listen to sob stories, try to work with people, etc. etc. 

But I can tell you now after learning the VERY hard way, ( I had to evict my first 2 tenants!) you absolutely can't be emotional, every decision has to be business based! 

Now, I don't feel bad declining anyone who doesn't meet my criteria and you shouldn't either. My uncle once told me "You're an investor, not a psychiatrist - tell 'em to cry on someone else's shoulder!" 

Blessings in all your endeavors!

I had my first "emotional" no a couple months back. We had a property on the market to sell but as it was getting close to winter, we were planning on taking the property off the market and trying again in the spring. Military family came to us, would make GREAT renters, but they only wanted a 3 mo lease. I was fine with that since I wanted the place back on market in 4 mo anyway. All was going to work out perfectly. Until we got an offer (for asking) the day they did their smartmove application. There was no signed agreement, I had been very clear our ultimate goal was to sell, and the property was still on the market. She was REALLY mad, pregnant and saying I put her in the hospital for stress to the baby, all kinds of harsh words. At the end of the day, I helped her find another rental even after all the nasty words, BUT, I had to do what was right for me. Tough sometimes...

@Kimberly H. Why is Baltimore a tough rental market?  I would think that, due to population density, you would have lots of potential candidates.  What are you leasing - a house or an apartment?

@Kimberly

I recommend you write out your qualification criteria for the apartment and stick to it.  I print out a few copies and hand them to the potential applicants.  I can then point them to the specific issue that prevented them from being qualified.  ie. 3x income not there, or credit score below 600, or evictions in the past. 

This protects you from any accusations you treated someone differently for arbitrary reasons.  The reasons are all spelled out and everyone is treated the same.

@Kimberly H. You definitely made the right decision.  A tenant like that would have been a headache.  And once you let them into the Premises, you can't get them out without going through eviction. 

Good job. Always remember it is not personal - it is a business. I always hand out a sheet that outlines our acceptance criteria and make sure they understand that there WILL be a background check. Sometimes the tenants just screen themselves and I never hear back. We use a LLC so I always represent myself as the property manager (which I am, in addition to being manager of the LLC). I will "turn in" the application and "they" will either approve or deny. We use a third party for qualifying tenants - I am involved but I never represent myself as the only person making the decision. It gets easier the more you do and you will be amazed at what some people try to pull.

AMEN.  It's hard to tell a single mom w/kids NO after she's whining "we have no where to go!"

Your rental is not the County Social Service department - - you poured lots of work, time, and money into it.  Let your property taxes go to work for you to solve the social issues.