Would you rent to this tenant?

Question

I have a condo in Chicago, south loop, that I rent for $2900.  The condo is a luxury unit, with floor to ceiling windows, and unobstructed views to lake.  My tenant moved out mid July, but the agent began showing it late June.  Since vacancies are expensive, I'd like to rent it as soon as possible.  Also, with it now being August, I worry about it being late in the rental season and was thinking about reducing the rate to get it to move.

I have an applicant who has a good credit score in mid-700s and has pay stubs grossing a little over 3 times the rent.  The issue was that she doesn't have any credit history showing any obligation this size, not even a car note.  She doesn't have any recent rental history either, as she lives in Indiana on a farm and says her husband pays the mortgage.  She wants a house in the city, oh and she wants her 20 something daughter to have access to the unit but not be on the lease....  I asked for a co-signer, but instead she offered 4 months advanced rent plus security.  When I verified her employment, she works at a grocery store that I think her husband or family owns.

My spidey senses are telling me she is renting my condo for her daughter....I'm really on the fence about renting to the applicant...what would you do?

Max T. · Answer

screen the daughter and see how she looks.

if she is okay then require her and mom on the lease, and husband as cosigner. the more people you can collect from, the better.

Chris Lucero · Answer

Listen to your spidey senses.

Courtney Jones · Answer

If you have to ask........the answer is NO!

Marcia Maynard · Answer

Establish good rental criteria. Communicate it clearly. Stick to it. She'll either qualify or not. It's important to listen to your intuition (gut feeling or spidey-sense too), but back up your decisions with real data. Be careful about how you offer or deny housing. Don't create a chilling affect either. You don't want to run afoul of non-discrimination laws.

Good rental criteria requires all adults (18 and older) who will be residing in the unit to apply, pass the screening process, and be listed on the rental agreement as jointly and severally liable. Sounds like the second home in the city will serve as a landing pad for the family (wife, husband, and adult daughter.) What are your occupancy standards and policies?  Define what it means to be a tenant and what it means to be a guest.  You can't deny housing based on familial status.

You should expect tenants to pay as they go.  You aren't extending credit or a secured loan, such as a mortgage company or auto finance company would do, so her history in that regard should not weigh heavily in your decision.  Instead, how timely has she been with her housing payments and utility payments? What is her debt to income ratio? How sufficient, secure, and stable is her income source? How well does she take care of her permanent residence? How likely is it that she will follow the terms of your rental agreement? Check out her prior rental history, even if it's from many years back, it may be significant.

Retain a security deposit that will cover your needs should she default in paying her rent and/or cause damage to your property.  Money in hand is much more security than a cosigner.  Getting reliable cosigners and chasing them down in the event of default by your tenant is much more trouble than its worth. Some states (jurisdictions) restrict the amount of security deposit you can obtain.

Ben Stevenson · Answer

Listen to your gut.

As you said, it sounds to me like she’s trying to rent the condo for her daughter, but her daughter has some sort of stain on her record/credit that impedes her ability to be approved for an apartment.

Always assume the worst case.

Randy E. · Answer

No, I would not rent to this applicant, @Morrisha Hudgons

Anthony Wick · Answer

I'm with Max. Sounds like she really wants it for her daughter. Which would seem expensive for a 20 year old. But then again, maybe with owning a farm and family business, that's simply their tastes. You could always ask her straight up if it's for her daughter. And then tell her; "If it is, your daughter needs to be the main applicant, and you and your husband can be a co-signer to guarantee rent payments". And then take a double security deposit.

Thomas S. · Answer

Your applicant is being extremely deceptive in regards to her situation. I would guess she is actually looking for a place for her daughter to live and for that reason would reject her application. All applicants lie but you must draw the line at some point and this one clearly has gone beyond that point in my book. Liars make for very poor tenants.

In situations where I scenes a applicant is not being truthful, as her rent bribe indicates, I do not bother wasting my time trying to help a applicant qualify. I reject the application and move on.

Morrisha Hudgons · Answer

Thanks all for your feedback, really appreciate it!

Christina Carey · Answer

I'm with @Chris Lucero - listen to your spidey senses. Especially since she doesn't want the daughter on the lease.

Would you rent to this tenant?

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