Will a tenant that is in eviction process show up on the report?

Question

We are still a little green at this, and the last time we showed a house was 2 years ago.  We had several prospective tenants see our sign or find us on zillow that were local and just wanted to get away from there landlord and move into our house.  If a tenant has been served notice, how would i be able to know that and protect myself?

Steven Warner · Answer

Yup.. Call the former landlord.  Then verify they are the real owner of the property by research - some people just lie and then conspire with a friend to be the LL...

I(f your gut says not to rent to them, then maybe you should not..

Caleb Heimsoth · Answer

@Cali Skier you can call the current landlord and ask them.  If it hasn’t gone through yet it won’t show up on their record

Cali Skier · Answer

So that's a good point.  What you are telling me is I have to treat the married couple the same way as two adults renting the house.  I can't sum the incomes of a married couple to qualify them an not a dating couple.  Correct?

John Teachout · Answer

We have credit score criteria in our tenant profile but indicate that it can be somewhat flexible on a case by case basis. Many don't meet our minimum credit score but we "sometimes" rent to them anyway (with additional deposit, etc). That's on a case by case basis. If we didn't feel comfortable, we just wouldn't approve their application based on a score below our minimum.

Regarding "groups" such as unmarried couples and so forth, all parties can be required to meet the rental criteria. We've had cases of people moving out and the remaining person(s) not able to handle the rent on their own. With a married couple, there is some legal responsibility in most cases that would prevent these situations. With a couple that isn't married, either of them can move out with no legal ramifications other than your lease. It can get complicated. Fair housing laws don't allow you to discriminate based an family/marital status but you can still require financial standards.

Cali Skier · Answer

Thanks Steve, you are spot on, but the part I am not getting past is how does your gut stand up in a court of law.  What I am gathering is, find the objective thing that disqualifies them if your gut is seeing red flags.  I am being very clear up front what the qualifications are.

Steven Warner · Answer

Cali

When I say go with your gut, I mean how does this applicant make you feel inside when it comes to relying on them to pay you on time, take care of your property, and be responsible to the neighbors around the property?

I have had applicants that had the income but there was just some thing about them that I was not excited about, unlike the single mom who had an income that just qualified (3 times rent) yet her excitement for the property , her character and interaction with me told me she was the one; and she has been for the last 6 years. And yes I have increased the rent, had a couple minor HOA issues and she was late a couple time (when she was totaled on the freeway).  She, and her daughters, have been the perfect tenants.

Not sure if this helps with the "gut" decision explanation...

Good luck to you.

Steve

Cali Skier · Answer

Thank you.  Thinking about my screening process.  Would it be acceptable to state in the policy that when a group of renters attempts to rent the house (i.e. college students, girlfriend, boyfriend, and a sister, or whatever) all possible combinations of 2 people must make enough money to equal 3 times the rent?  What i am meaning is, say the sister moves out, or one college student gets married, now I have problem with rent.  Or say the boyfriend and girlfriend split up and the sister and girlfriend can't afford rent.  now I am stuck.

I think its acceptable for me to do this.

I think I can treat this like a job interview, right? I am looking for stability.

Michael Noto · Answer

@Cali Skier Along with calling the current landlord, an easier way would be to check with your local court. In our area you can easily look up any past or existing eviction cases online on the court website.

Cali Skier · Answer

Thank you very much, that makes sense.

Kathy Johnson · Answer

You go with your gut by doing more checking if your gut is telling you that something is wrong.  Verify previous landlord, verify employment, check local criminal court records for their name.  We once had an applicant who didn't appear on the eviction court records, but had several DWIs and assault on a police officer.  After further checking, we found that some of his details on the application were pure fiction and his 'boss' that verified employment wasn't employed by the company when we checked with Human Resources.

Will a tenant that is in eviction process show up on the report?

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