Gut check on potential tenant

[Alyssa Strom]

Hi everyone! 

First official forum question ... My husband and I are screening a tenant and I need some outside opinions. I've gone back and forth on this one. Married military guy who is stationed in town, but his family is moving back home (out of state). Sub 500 credit, makes 5x the monthly rent (brought his pay stubs), one great reference and one reference that said they had to move before their lease was up (military move) so he would never rent to anyone in the military again. The abrupt moving potential doesn't make or break the deal for me (except for in the winter) since vacancy rates are under 3% here. About the rental unit: basement studio (class C neighborhood, funky entry through the garage but sweet outdoor space and lots of light so not a total dive). Thanks in advance for any guidance! 

[Mark Limke]

Seems like he has good rental references. The income is important, and there. I would want to see why his credit rating was so poor. Does he pay his bills, taxes, and utilities? In other words, I don't care about his credit cards, but does he pay the bills to live? As a veteran, I'm partial to giving a break.

I wonder if it's permissible to question how long he is due to stay at this assignment? Seems non-biased and relevant, but you never know, so check before asking.

Oh, yeah -- on the one landlord who was perturbed he had to leave early, how was his tenancy otherwise?