Applicants do not want parents on lease but want parents around..

[Shawn Mcenteer]

I have applicants that wish to rent one of my units, their parents/in laws will be living with them for 2-3 months.  Parents have visa and are not United States citizens because of this the applicants are requesting parents do not go on lease because it can somehow affect their parents ability to return to United States.  They are upfront about this and do not appear to be trying to hide anything but it is a scenario I am not familiar with.  Has anyone dealt with something similar and how did you protect yourself?  Applicants seem great, I would like to have them.

[Matthew Olszak]

Originally posted by @Shawn Mcenteer:

I have applicants that wish to rent one of my units, their parents/in laws will be living with them for 2-3 months.  Parents have visa and are not United States citizens because of this the applicants are requesting parents do not go on lease because it can somehow affect their parents ability to return to United States.  They are upfront about this and do not appear to be trying to hide anything but it is a scenario I am not familiar with.  Has anyone dealt with something similar and how did you protect yourself?  Applicants seem great, I would like to have them.

The person who signs the lease is going to be the one financially responsible. If the parents pass your criteria individually (IE they make enough, good credit, etc), then you can write in other people as "authorized occupants". They are likely being cautious because of the extremely difficult immigration process they are going through which is completely unforgiving of any innocent mistakes.

A person being on the lease makes no difference in your ability to legally evict them (think squatters). For me its just important that they are honest about who is living in the unit, so that I can review everyone's background/eviction history as long as the one(s) signing the lease have a solid enough financial profile for me to have recourse in the event of nonpayment.

Its similar to what I do for students - the parents sign as "guarantors" on the lease, ie they are guaranteeing the financial end, meaning the actual occupant just has to pass the background portion.