Low-Income Tenant with Cosigner

[Greg Brown]

I just bought my first rental property in November (a duplex), and am currently trying to rent one of the units in it.

I have had one nice young lady that was very interested in renting the apartment, but she did not meet the income requirement (3x rent). She has asked if she can have her mother cosign on the lease so that she can rent the apartment. Thus far she is the only prospective tenant to give me a completed application.

Assuming she meets my other criteria (no evictions, no felonies) should I allow her to rent the unit with her mother as the cosigner? And if so, should I screen the mother?

[Matt Clark]

Definitely screen the guarantor and verify their income. We require the guarantor to demonstrate monthly income 5 times the rent. They should also have excellent credit. Then you can be assured they will pay rather than risk jeopardizing their credit score, should that become necessary. 

This formula has worked well for us.