Tenant screening decision your point of view

[Raul Flores]

Guys

I have two tenants applications, not sure what to choose, the credit score is bad, lower than 600 however they some good points:

The house is 5 bedrooms and 2 bathroom, two living room and two dining room. $1200 month and $1200 deposit

Tenant 1: 4 adults and three kids = 7 persons

The 4 adults works, lower income for each, some of them with cash only. Looks like they would pay the rent with 4 incomes ($ 4700), stayed the last three to four years in the same address.

moving reason: Investor is selling the house

Tenant 2: 4 adults and 5 kids = 9 persons

Three adults works and looks like better income with all of them and the person who applied has better income, the main person get ($4000)

moving reason: they are worry for the kids on the existing place.

My worry is the second tenants, many kids and I think at the end and during the lease will require more maintenance.

For you experience, which one is better? Also , can you ask for more deposit to the tenant with more kids and ask for more monthly payment?

I will appreciate your input.

[Jeff Bridges]

Originally posted by @Raul Flores:

Guys

I have two tenants applications, not sure what to choose, the credit score is bad, lower than 600 however they some good points:

The house is 5 bedrooms and 2 bathroom, two living room and two dining room. $1200 month and $1200 deposit

Tenant 1: 4 adults and three kids = 7 persons

The 4 adults works, lower income for each, some of them with cash only. Looks like they would pay the rent with 4 incomes ($ 4700), stayed the last three to four years in the same address.

moving reason: Investor is selling the house

Tenant 2: 4 adults and 5 kids = 9 persons

Three adults works and looks like better income with all of them and the person who applied has better income, the main person get ($4000)

moving reason: they are worry for the kids on the existing place.

My worry is the second tenants, many kids and I think at the end and during the lease will require more maintenance.

For you experience, which one is better? Also , can you ask for more deposit to the tenant with more kids and ask for more monthly payment?

I will appreciate your input.

 Read up on fair housing laws and local state laws before you get yourself into a pickle. Fair housing laws prohibit charging a higher deductible for families or discriminating against families. See below detailed answer from a law firm on your question.

https://fairhousing.foxrothschild.com/2011/07/arti...

You got alot of people with both scenarios, which seems like alot of wear regardless of who you choose. I place more weight in the landlord references. What did the landlord say about each and every one of these adults? If you havent called each persons prior landlord, I recommend you do so and find out about their late history and how they kept their unit. in each application, are they all related or unrelated?

here is another good resource for screening. read it over to review your process and make sure you are consistent in the future:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/2...

At first glance it seems like there are too many unrelated people applying to live there as roommates. Just remember the screening is more than income plus credit score (which is bad for both and already a caution flag). Landlord references are important. Remember sometimes choosing none of the above and waiting for other applicants is better than making a bad decision and selecting one of them.