Could use some insight

[Patrick Ng]

Hi all, 

Could use some insight from those with some more experience. I have a rental on the market that is going to be available Oct 1. Property management had found a tenant that met screening, and today tenant deposited $50 less than what was posted as security deposit. Tenant then said she was under the impression that the rent was what she deposited, not what is clearly posted and that that is all she can afford. 

This seems like a red flag to me, and potential sign of a problematic tenant. Any one have experience with this before, or am I looking at this too cynically? I am currently weighing the potential decisions on how to move forward against each other: 

1)Accept the $50 less than posted and place a tenant that met all screening criteria.

2)put the home back on the market for the listing price and risk vacancy.

3) propose that we agree on a rent in between, which would be $25 less than the original listing price. 

In a lot of @Brandon Turner's publications, he mentions training the tenant properly. I worry that by accepting what the tenant mistakenly thought the rent was would set the wrong precedent, but then again, won't have the vacancy issue. 

Thanks for the insight all!

[Michael Gansberg]

@Patrick Ng - if the ad she responded to showed the rent as $50 less than you're expecting, that's a management error. You can explain it to her, but she basically self-screened and told you that she can't afford the rent. I think you got lucky- if $50 is make or break for her, she probably isn't in a stable situation. It's my experience that when you have problems before the lease begins, you'll have problems for the duration.

I'd give her the deposit back and find another resident.