Tenants with non-traditional income sources please help!

[Pyrrha Rivers]

I'm brand new to the tenant screening experience and would like your feedback on a pair of prospects who came to my last showing.

During the conversation, the two young ladies mentioned they have been roommates for years, had their apartment rent raised beyond their comfort and decided to move from midtown to the suburbs where they would avoid the traffic issues of living in midtown.

Their income sources however are non traditional. They both work outside of the home. One is a baby sitter who is willing to provide bank statements as proof of income, the other is a pet sitter and will provide payment stubs from her clients as income verification. 

May come to nothing since the prospects came to see the home but have not yet submitted their application which I have online via Cozy. (I just want to know how to evaluate their income position should they indeed follow through and apply.)

As landlords we may come across entrepreneurs and self employed individuals. How do you verify their income stability? 

I'm sure those of you with more experience may have come across this scenario before and can provide guidance.

Thank you so much for your help! 

[Brandon Battle]

Hello,yes you definitely need to be careful.When you are dealing with someone who is "Self Employed",you need to ask for their last two years of tax returns to verify they are making the yearly income they say they are making in their application.Remember the golden rules!! their income individually or combined must be 3 times the rent on a monthly basis regularly and you must verify everything on their application.Previous landlords can tell you if they were good tenants or had constant late payments and/or faced eviction.they also need to pass a criminal background and credit check.