Leasing to Business Owner with Bad Credit & More

[Hans A.]

Hello All,

I have a question about renting a House (5BD) located in Central Texas to a Business owner and his family from Puerto Rico. They have commercial Business and deal with selling Energy solutions (& products) to large industries. Their income is is not constant obviously due to the nature of their Business.

They are having a hard time finding a rental in the city because of their very poor credit (foreclosure, back taxes to IRS, etc.). I did not run their apps yet but I am guessing i wlil see a lot of negativity on their reports. 

However, they both are hard working professionals (both are Engineers) and would like to sign a 3 yr lease to start a new chapter in Austin.

Will it be wise to ask for a large deposit and rent it to them? They are likely going to garner new clients in the area to increase their business. They work out of Home and visit their clients to sell their services and products.

One half of me is saying I should take a risk by asking 4 months of deposit and move forward with the tenant as I will be guaranteed a stable income for 3 years. The worst that can happen is  eviction but I will be cushioned by the 4 months deposit. 

Whereas, the other half of me is saying to avoid them and look for folks with better credit and stable income w/ W2.

Any thoughts would be highly appreciated.