Rent to Income ratio receiving negative reactions

[Rory Fowler]

I have a unit in a duplex posted for rent. The previous owners had some bad experiences with tenants in this duplex but it is in a great neighborhood (I live in this neighborhood. It's positioned in great suburb with a top school system, easy access to major corridors for the metro area. Newly remodeled in March 2017 with great interior upgrades - granite, cabinets, appliances, etc. The previous owners were terrible at screening and got burned out. Their last tenant before I purchased asked to leave because she couldn't afford to stay. So I have posted it today for $900/month with a requirement of $3,000 gross income. I am getting a ton of negative unsolicited feedback about this. I always post with the 3x income requirement, but decided to round it up another $300 on this one to trim down the borderline income qualified applicants. I've filled the other side with a great tenant who easily meets this requirement (didn't have to advertise that side). Am I out of line on this? This duplex should be attracting a high end tenant than what it has historically had. . How do you attract/"screen up" to better tenants?

[Matthew Olszak]

Maybe. Understand that folks who live in different class properties allocate their income differently. Someone in an A class property might only pay 25% of their income towards rent, while someone in a C/D might be above 50%. Analyze the tenant base - who are the people that  live in the area in a unit such as your's. Are there a lot of people who make over $17/hr? Did you make it clear that your 3k requirement is (or rather, it should be) combined income of the adults? IE husband and wife making $10/hr each? Clarify that its pre-tax and not net check amount?

I set semi-low income-to-rent ratios because each person manages their finances differently. If they have NO credit, IE no credit cards or car payments, why should they be on the same level with someone who has a $450 car payment? I usually set my level around 2x, then take into account credit, background, no evictions, and a strong rental history, with a history of long-term tenancies being a huge plus.