Help me choose among these tenants--all bad

[Shari Posey]

Wow, the economy must really suck because for the first time ever, every applicant has major problems. We have 3 applicants all with different problems. Our rent is $1095 and tenant pays all utilities of about $130/mo. Can you help us choose among these? Who would you pick?

Applicant #1--A single mom, unemployed but gets unemployment of $320/week and "says" she does her own notary business for $800-1200/mo. She has had almost every credit line in collections from 2005 to 2010. BUT her mom is co-signing for her and her mom's credit is excellent, her income is stable and makes enough to pay her own mortgage and the rent.

Applicant #2--A single mom, newly divorced. Her credit is not bad (707), she has stable income since 2007 BUT her income is low--only $1800/mo. No car loans. A student loan for $100/mo.

Applicant #3--A 30-yr-old self-employed single guy. His application was very incomplete but he says he will give us his tax returns, bank statement, etc. in person because it's too much to fax. He says he owns 2 bike stores and makes $3600/mo. He currently pays $1900/mo for rent but wants to downsize to save up for a house. Currently has $3500 in the bank. He only wants a 6 month lease (we prefer 1 yr).

Tomorrow I will check with past/current landlords but let's assume they check out o.k.

Who would you pick???

[Shari Posey]

We waited it out, plus all of those I put in my post pulled out--our place was too small, one needed a roommate, etc.

We just signed a lease tonight with a great tenant...solid income 4x the rent, long-term govenment employment and great credit with no lates ever.

It paid to wait. We showed in a dozen times and ended up with several more applications but they were all marginal or worse.