Great sounding tenant with questionable dog - should I rent??

[Nick Brubaker]

Hi everyone,

So I am getting closer to finding a tenant for my first SFH rental. It has taken me exceptionally long, probably because it is my first time going through the process.

This is probably a C-class house with C-class tenant-base.  My biggest challenge has been finding a serious, responsible tenant.  

This week I finally found one that I like for the following reasons:

- She is polite, respectful, and reasonable

- She is a 5th grade teacher with a steady income over 4x the rent

- She has a clean criminal record

- She has good credit history and has unintentionally signaled twice that her credit is important to her

- Her car and dress seem clean and maintained enough

- In some online research I found out she was on the dean's list in college 

- She is offering to pay another half-month's security deposit to give her an advantage over other applicants

The biggest concern though is that she has a 75-pound dug that is a mix of Chow, American Terrier, Boxer, and Lab. 

Things to consider:

- She says the dog is not aggressive

- She says he does not destroy property

- She says he's over the "puppy stage"

- Her vet said the dog will likely not grow any more.  

- Apparently she brings him to day care regularly (maybe every day) where he usually expends his energy.  She offered to provide the contact info of the daycare provider to hear her/his input on the dog's temperament.  

- Apparently she has an e-collar to help "manage" the dog if necessary.  

- She is offering to pay more pet fee (I am already charging $200 upfront and $25 additional every month)

- The house is old (1952), has hardwood floors, a new deck, and a large backyard

- The tenant is required to get renter's insurance

- I have asked her to provide a record of the dog being spayed/neutered as well as vaccine records

It may or may not be obvious that I would like to approve this tenant even with the dog.  I would love to hear your thoughts?

[Albert Hasson]

Nick, it's your first rental and you are obviously excited about REI, congratulations!!

However, I think you are totally over analyzing this and it sounds like you have just lost a months (or more) rent due to your overly strict criteria.

No amount of research can guarantee a good tenant.  Even a "doggie interview" won't tell you if the dog will scratch your floors and piss inside the house.  This teacher sounds like a god send to me given the C class location of your home.  Sign her up and stop wasting your time.  If you have that much time to kill start researching your next investment.