Sub par renters in Charlotte?

[Don Jackson]

I just got a note from my property manager in Charlotte describing two different applications to rent my property. Neither one looks great, but I wonder if any of you have any thoughts on these:

Application #1

- Family of five, no pets

- Credit is acceptable, his is in the high 500s and her credit is in the low 700s

- Income also qualifies at over 3x the rental rate

- They do have 14 late payments in their last 27 months at the same property; however, eviction filings have not happened at this current property. She did have two eviction filings in her name in 2012.

- They have not requested any repairs

Application #2

- Single applicant with two children

- Applicant is apply with Charlotte Family Housing

- Her credit is in the low 500s

- She does have a few of eviction fillings on her record from 2010/2011/2012

- Her income does meet our standard of 3x the rental rate

- Repair requests - in order for the payment/tenant to be subsidized by CFH, the property would have to pass their property inspection - so there would likely be some repairs required by them.

Neither applicant is fully qualified to rent the property. The first applicants have several late payments…if you were to choose them, I'd suggest requiring two month's rent security deposit. The second applicant sounds promising due to the CFH program; however, you will likely have to make some repairs to the property to meet their strict inspection guidelines.

[Michael Bowman]

I would throw both in the trash can: 

Applicant #1 -- family of 5 is acceptable, no pets is ok. Credit is fine, income is good. 14 late payments in 27 months and 2 evictions filings is sheer insanity. Drama is written all over that one. I explain to all our tenants we are not a lender. You pay on time or you don't stay! 

Applicant #2 -- Everything about this applicant screams drama. 

The Charlotte market is HOT. There is no reason to compromise like this by allowing sub-qualified tenants into your property. The rental rate is at a price where there should be a ton of interest (I still think it's too low), and there shouldn't be any massive compromises. 

You want good, hard working, low drama tenants that are going to be professionals about everything they do. That is possible to find even in the $800 range. We do it every day. 

Good luck!