Must Reply To Every Inquiry?

[Art Maydan]

If I can tell from a prospect’s initial contact that they’re not someone I want to do business with (rude, rushing me to reply, bad grammar, etc.), do I have to even reply? Is that something they could sue over? This one lady emailed me at 1AM this morning and has left several voicemails since demanding to see the property ASAP. I wouldn’t normally even reply until I take lunch at work, which nobody has had any issues with so far, but can I just ignore her altogether? I’m house hacking and already know this person is not living in my house. Do I have to go through the motions?

I know I have more legal leeway due to owner-occupy "choose your neighbor" law, but let's pretend this is strictly a rental. What then?

[Account Closed]

I let all phone calls go to voicemail.  I had a notebook.  When I was ready to deal with them, I'd listen to the messages, and make a notation in my notebook.  If they sounded drunk, were screaming at their kids, had someone in the background telling them what to say - I'd make a notation and whether or not I called them back.

You only have to worry about protected classes.  Rude, drunk, screaming people, etc., are not protected - even if they're disabled, etc.

I had a written criteria list and I amended it as I became more experienced.  Then, I'd email it to myself every time I updated it, so I'd have proof of when it was established.

This was in Silicon Valley, where there are lots of fair housing testers, and they came by a lot and I never got into trouble.  

Just keep a notebook, as others have mentioned (to document, document, document), for the reasons you didn't respond or otherwise rejected an inquiry or applicant, and you'll be fine - as long as there isn't any provable history of you regularly rejecting applicants of a protected class.

I regularly rejected applicants who did not respect my time.  If they were late, didn't show up, were demanding and showed up without appointments after being told I only go by appointments, etc., they were denied.  

Plus, you can put into your criteria that you don't rent to people who are in a hurry to rent immediately, because it probably means they have current landlord problems, etc.  Same for anyone who was being a demanding pain prior to becoming a tenant, because then they'd probably be a demanding pain when they became a tenant.  Demanding PITA people are not a protected class :-)