Spokane, WA · Member since 2015 · 23 posts · 6 votes
I'm in the process of turning over one of my units and, every landlord's nightmare, it's midwinter and tenants are scarce. I have an applicant and I was hoping for some feedback on whether or not I should pursue getting this person into the unit. She emailed me with a bit of a sob story about how no one would rent to her because she has a five year old drug possession charge on her record, but she has been clean ever since. She is on government assistance full time and is expecting a baby. She says she is willing to pay six months rent in advance and can have her mother cosign if there is any financial difficulty. Six months up front and clean for five years sounds nice, but I'm worried about the drug charge and potential relapses, and also the lack of employment (I'm not familiar enough with government assistance programs to know how steady that is). Any feedback would be great!
Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2017 · 824 posts · 1k+ votes
8y
See if she would have any recommendations from previous landlords, even recent ones? I think that would be pretty telling. You need to be careful of how much you inquire into the charges, or any part of this woman's life. Discriminatory factors could come into play.
I agree with what others are saying about the sob story, but this woman is being incredibly upfront with you. The mother cosigning is an interesting addendum.
I would also not consider the rent pre-payment; I believe I've heard some horror stories on BP about prepayment. The general consensus, if I recall correctly, is to respond with "great! then you'll have no problem putting that money aside to pay the rent when it is due each month." The prepayment just gets a landlord off of a tenants back, and frankly, I would not want that. I would push for frequent house visits and be extra diligent.
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 930 votes
8y
Did she say was the drug was? Was it crack or just weed? People smoke weed, whether you like or or not, know it or not. Pretty soon it will be legal. The issue that I would have, and I know we can't discriminate, but I would anticipate that "baby daddy" will make frequent, if not overnight visits, and possibly moving in.
Pottstown, PA · Member since 2017 · 79 posts · 31 votes
8y
There's a reason other landlords won't rent to. That trend would make me very hesitant. And if she's giving you a sob story just to get in, expect a sob story for everything else (ie, can't pay rent, needs baby daddy there who doesn't qualify, needs to break lease to move in with mom, etc).
Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2017 · 824 posts · 1k+ votes
8y
See if she would have any recommendations from previous landlords, even recent ones? I think that would be pretty telling. You need to be careful of how much you inquire into the charges, or any part of this woman's life. Discriminatory factors could come into play.
I agree with what others are saying about the sob story, but this woman is being incredibly upfront with you. The mother cosigning is an interesting addendum.
I would also not consider the rent pre-payment; I believe I've heard some horror stories on BP about prepayment. The general consensus, if I recall correctly, is to respond with "great! then you'll have no problem putting that money aside to pay the rent when it is due each month." The prepayment just gets a landlord off of a tenants back, and frankly, I would not want that. I would push for frequent house visits and be extra diligent.
Drug addict, welfare bum, single expectant mother, living with her mother and offering a bribe.
Is she also a disabled visible majority with a service pony.
Sounds like a pretty solid candidate to me. Sign her up for a 6 month term and at the same time issue her a non renewal notice just to expadite the process.
Investor · Post Falls, ID · Member since 2016 · 606 posts · 699 votes
8y
Tax refunds are just around the corner, and soon potential tenants will have a chunk of cash for 1st and SD. Of course you have to have been employed in 2017 to get a tax refund.
BTW, for many years I was an RN Case Manager in Washington. Unless the law has been changed within the past two years, AFDC recipients were limited to only having financial assets of less than $2K -- so if she really has the ability to pay 6 months "up front" she is committing welfare fraud.
5 years ago in Washington NO ONE was being charged with simple possession of marijuana. So it was either hard drugs or she was busted for intent to distribute and pled guilty to the lessor charge in a plea deal (very common). You should be able to look her up on the Washington Courts data base and she how that case was adjudicated.
If her mother has offered to co-sign, is her mother employed with garnishable wages and does she own property in Washington? People on Social Security retirement or disability are not garnishable, so this may be an empty promise.
I'm in the process of turning over one of my units and, every landlord's nightmare, it's midwinter and tenants are scarce. I have an applicant and I was hoping for some feedback on whether or not I should pursue getting this person into the unit. She emailed me with a bit of a sob story about how no one would rent to her because she has a five year old drug possession charge on her record, but she has been clean ever since. She is on government assistance full time and is expecting a baby. She says she is willing to pay six months rent in advance and can have her mother cosign if there is any financial difficulty. Six months up front and clean for five years sounds nice, but I'm worried about the drug charge and potential relapses, and also the lack of employment (I'm not familiar enough with government assistance programs to know how steady that is). Any feedback would be great!
What type of drugs we talking about?
Weed = No bid deal.
Heroin = Problem tenants. Stay away. At Holton-Wise we probably see 5-10 heroin overdose deaths a year in our portfolio. It seems like no matter how long some of these folks are clean they will always go back. Also her saying she is clean means nothing. She may not be clean at all. If you see it on her record I would just move on. May as well mitigate the additional risk while you have the chance. Every heroin addict has a clean record until they don't. We don't put anyone in our units with heroin charges but still see about 10 of them die yearly. No way to know for sure but just mitigate the additional risk now while you have the opportunity.
Investor · Boise, ID · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
8y
I would never accept advance rent. What if you need to evict her in two months for kicking in the door, dealing drugs out of the house, parking her car in the front yard? The fact that you've accepted payment for the next six months will make her almost eviction proof. Monthly rent payments hold tenants accountable and keep you in consistent contact with them.
The drug charge and sob story to a stranger are red flags too. Will you get another sob story on the seventh month about how she can't pay rent because her mom was laid off and she had to make her car payment with her gvt assistance? I don't rent to tenants because they are in a tough spot and are looking for a break, I rent to tenants because they meet my rental criteria and the property is available, no emotions involved.
My final thought- it's MUCH better to have a place vacant for a month or two and find a great tenant than it is to fill it immediately with someone who might make your year a very stressful (and expensive) one.