Am I asking for trouble?

Question

New Landlord here!

I recently took a phone call from a potential tenant, interested in my rental property.  I started running him through the basic pre-screening questions and red flags flew up left and right but I am not completely writing him off. Below i'll list the pros and cons, I would love some feedback!

Cons

he admitted he and his Fiance both have felonies

They have a Dog (husky)

No prior rental history (lived with his fiance's mom)

fairly young (27)

Pros

They both work (will offer references) (combined they make over 3x the rent)

willing to pay asking price (I listed it about $100-$200 more than I thought Id get)

He seemed well spoken and mature

they have a 2 year old

He said his credit score is about 650 (i'll fact check this later)

Am I looking for trouble here? Is there any way I can limit the risk?

Thank you in advance

KeviMoni Allison · Answer

BLUF: Gut check, would you want to live next to them and then do they pass a credit check?

1st post on this site EVER!  Woot, busting that cherry.

Account Closed · Answer

I'm a Mortgage Broker and Landlord, so IF it were me renting one of my properties, I'd pass.  In addition to being a buyer's market, this is also a Rental Market too, so there will be another renter coming along.

But since most refuse to follow common sense advice, and gotta get a good healthy dose of a bad tenant experience in order to learn, consider doing the following:

Collect or you pay 75.00 and do a more extensive background check.

Require a $500k non-refundable Pet "Fee,"  Not a pet deposit, but Pet Fee.  Also, a $200 non-refundable "Professional Cleaning Fee" that will go towards cleaning property after their lease is up.

NO PITBULLS! (I love the breed, love the dogs, father used to raise them to hunt hogs, but something clicks in their brains (not all of them), and the force of their jaws locking down and pure muscle jerking back and forth is scary!)  The breed, size, age and gender of dog should be considered when determining the Pet Fee and the Dog Addendum you have in the lease

Ask the tenants to obtain a Joint Tri-merged Mortgage Credit Report.  Refer them to your mortgage person, make sure they pay the $40 to $50 cost for the report in advance and ask the lender to create the "Consumer Copy" report and sent to the applicants.   Note: a Mortgage Credit Report will pick up dirt that those worthless "Online" consumer fico score reports won't show.

Depending on how much of a Credit Criminal you have on your hands, in addition to a substantial "refundable deposit ask for 1st month's and last 2 month's rent up front (note: need to open an escrow account to deposit the rent payments and deposit collected)

Write lease with an "EPD"  (Early Payment Discount), meaning if they ensure that you receive the monthly payment BEFORE the 1st day of the month, the rent is discounted $50, $100, $300 or whatever, depending on if you are leasing out a $50k home or a $3,000,000 home.

And the very first time the rent is 5 days late, hire an evection company to go post an eviction notice to start the process and/or show them you are not playing and they will likely ensure you receive the rest of the rents on time after that

And I could go on and on listing things to do, but these are a few good ones

Kyle Z. · Answer

Thank you all for the advice. There has been a lot of ideas here that I had not thought of. I appreciate it!!!

Barri F. · Answer

My first questions would be what the felony charges were for.  Hopefully you intend to do a criminal background check, so you'll have the real story of the charges and how long ago they were.

A lot of people, especially in the recovering community, are "late bloomers" and live with parents/relatives for years.  It sounds like this couple is finally making an effort to get out on their own and provide a home for themselves and their child.  How does their credit history look as far as paying bills on time?  How long have they held their current jobs?  A solid work history is indicative of their ability and willingness to live up to a commitment.

Since they have been living with the fiancee's mother, would she be willing to be a guarantor on the rent?

Best of luck to you!

Allen Winston Cook · Answer

I would NOT rent to this couple. You are setting yourself up for lots of problems. I did a similar thing with a felon. It was drug related. Turns our he and his girlfriend used my apartment to hide all the breakins and robberies they were doing in another state. By the way, his parole officer vouched for him. The police came after they were there with me for over 5 months and broke down my door ( since I lived 30 minutes away and they just couldn't wait, although the tenants were not home) they stopped paying rent after 3 months, and changed cell phones regularly.  They used the system to stay in the property...please don't do it! I learned the hard way. THE BIG RED FLAG IS YOU HAVE NO RENTAL HISTORY!!! Neither did my couple and they were in their late 20's ( I know you can take a risk on someone with no rental history..i just did it a property I own and it has worked great but I had proof of a good job, character reference and I gave the kid a chance...has turned out great!)

Also the furniture in the apartment they rented from a furniture rental company..never paid them a dime..it was my pleasure to open the door and let the company repossess what was rightfully theirs.  Every renter has to start somewhere but YOU do not have to be their starting place. Just be patient and the right tenant will come along... Oh, I like dogs and do rent to tenants with them, but I require a large deposit.

Matt K. · Answer

I saw something posted elsewhere that the person picks up the application in person. This way they get a glimpse into how the person treats the residence. Why not increase the security deposit due to the pet? Maybe roll it into the rent if they can't come up w/ the down payment.

Blair Poelman · Answer

@Kyle Z. you could have liability, but I'm not really the guy to say.  thats a question best researched with a RE attorney who knows tenant/landlord laws, and probably worth speaking with some local PM's in the area as well about their experience.  My thinking would be to have the owner sign a waiver, but we all know waivers and contracts can be contested in court.

Kyle J. · Answer

I would personally never rent to anyone with a husky again. Have done it before and they tore everything up - repeatedly dug holes, chewed sprinkler heads clean off, chewed all the wires in the sprinkler valves, chewed the bottom of a door off (still baffled by that one), chewed fence boards off (multiple times), etc.

From what I’ve seen, they’re friendly dogs but very energetic/destructive.

Here’s some more reading on this breed from someone who actually owns them: https://pethelpful.com/dogs/damage-destruction-caused-by-Huskies

Am I asking for trouble?

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