tenant standards?

Question

Hello all,
So we bought our first four plex a little over a month ago.  2 units were already rented, and we have cleaned and painted the other two.  We have shown them about 10 times in the past 2 weeks, which i feel is a pretty good number.  We have been running background checks, and we have turned down every single applicant.  All have either had a previous eviction, or a prior felony.  Are we being to picky?  It feels like playing it safer the better is the best strategy here.    The 2 units rented out are pretty much covering all of the bills, so it isnt killing us to hold off.  What are your thoughts?

Marcia Maynard · Answer

Consider removing the "For Rent" sign from the front lawn. Drive-bys won't see your rental criteria and information about the property, so they will call and ask many basic questions and can waste your time. Also, a "For Rent" sign signals that the unit is empty and could make it more prone to vandalism.

Do telephone screening before making the time and effort to show a property. Let them know up front if they don't qualify after they tell you something that doesn't meet your rental criteria.

Evaluate your property and your market niche. Be patient too, as it is better to leave a unit empty than have it occupied by a troublesome tenant. Let your current tenants know you are looking for a good tenant who meets your rental rental criteria and that you welcome referrals.

Jeff Zamora · Answer

We are very clear in our advertising (zillow, craigslist etc) that we will do a THOROUGH criminal background and credit check on all applicants.  I want to weed these people out before they even call us.  We have not had one person with eviction/felony apply.  We have had some borderline credit cases and seems like the lower the credit score the more problems we have.

When asked we say that we do this so that all the existing tenants know that we vet all new tenants carefully so they will have good neighbors.

We do not say we will not rent to felons or previous evictions in ads, but I think people get the idea when they see the ad wording and move on to easier landlords.

Jeff Bridges · Answer

I personally am happy with my criteria which disqualifies felons and formerly evicted tenants from renting my units. Let some other landlord inherit those headaches and potential disasters. On the other hand, you are St. Louis rental market and you'll be dealing with a higher percentage of low-income tenants with increased likelihood of financial issues/ history so you have to weed through more applicants to find a potential gem. Also, you need to do more research on your neighborhood market to see if you can market to higher end tenants or if low end is all you can appeal to. Maybe section 8 advertising channels might help? Maybe do a better job at sharing your criteria with applicants up front (either pre-screening over phone or in person) so you dont waste as much time with showings, applications, and running background checks for naught. i.e. felony criminal background, any evictions or landlord court proceedings grounds for disqualification. Bad credit OK but will be checked.

have you tried rentlinx.com? Craigslist? I've paid rentlinx to increase my online marketing presence to all of the syndicated websites and boost applicants. 40-50 dollars well spent vs. even a single month of vacancy.  I've gotten all my tenants from both of these.

Kyle J. · Answer

Yes, you can tell them that. In fact, you should tell them that. No sense wasting your time, or theirs, with people who clearly won't be able to pass your screening criteria (I have the same criteria by the way).

In my experience, telling them up front all of your criteria will cut down on the number of applicants, so you'll get less calls, showings, and applications submitted as people weed themselves out. However, don't let that alone discourage you or lead you to believe that your advertising isn't working. I've found that I may get fewer applicants by being up front about my criteria, but the applicants I do get are higher quality because they know what my criteria is and they know they meet/exceed it.

Michael Buckley · Answer

Yes definitely tell all of your applicants that you do a full background and credit check. Neither felons or evictions are protected classes, it's just like a dirty car.

You should be advertising on both CL and Postlets for your rentals. Postlets is free and sends your listing to all the major real estate listing services.

You should also look at the neighborhood that your property is located in. If it is a "C" or "D" neighborhood, you have a much higher chance of getting those low quality applicants. If I owned n that type of area, I would consider signing up for sections 8. That way I get most of the payment from the government, and you can use section 8 as leverage against he tenants.

DJ Cummins · Answer

great.  Thank you both

Jeff Bridges · Answer

Felons are not a protected class under the fair housing act. therefore, landlords are allowed to discriminate against felons if it is part of their rental policy. You can also put language in your ads about criminal background check being performed, but I flat out ask if they have any criminal record/ former evictions I should be aware of when they call. Sometimes they even self disqualify after going on a long explanation about what they did in the past. The good neighbors and safe tenant building is a great explanation if they ask why.

source:

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/question-re...

http://www.reiclub.com/realestateblog/landlords-be...

DJ Cummins · Answer

We are on craigslist only right now, plus a sign in the grass.  I might try the other site though, good info.  Legally can i tell them over the phone up front that i wont rent to a felon or someone who has been evicted?

tenant standards?

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