Tenant Selection Advice

[Matthew Pagelsdorf]

I have a 2BR 1 Bath SFR to rent for $1,000 a month. I have a Tenant screening criteria list as well. The issue is that included in this we require 3x the rent amount as income to qualify and the partner on this property wants to rent it to someone who is moving from FL back to WI that will have no job upon moving back to WI, but has offered to pay 6 months rent up front to have the rent covered while he searches for a job. I suggested asking for a co-signer that has verifiable income but the partner believes that would be taken as an insult by this applicant. While having 6 months rent up front may be nice, I feel it is much better to have verifiable income to pay rent year round.

Does anyone have any advice and/or situations where accepting such a tenant went wrong such as no rent payments after that initial advanced payment ran out?

[Paul Ronto]

Proper tenant screening and solid acceptance criteria are key to success as a landlord. As soon as you start to bend you're flirting with a headache and risk. I would stick to your guns on this. Don't get desperate, you'll find the right tenant, and like said before, 6 months advance rent doesn't make up for 6 months missed rent if they can't pay after the initial 6 months are up and you need to go through months of eviction issues. Get a solid tenant and you'll get your 6 months of rent in 6 months and many many more payments. 

It's time to have a deep conversation with your partner. Remember the key to finding great tenants is great marketing. The more options you have to screen and weed through the higher probability you'll find a great tenant. Always run full reports, credit, criminal, and eviction and set your criteria in stone. 

Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes or if you have other thoughts of questions. Good luck.