Would you rent your house to these freaks?

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Would you rent to ...

#1 asked her if she has a pet. She said yes, I asked what is the gender, she said it's a puppy! She also smokes.

#2 He asked if there is a bathroom on both floors I said yes, why do you ask? He says he takes care of his parents and they can't do stairs. I asked if he smokes, he said his dad smokes, the doctor is ordering him to quit, but he won't. That's all I need, a death from smoking in my new clean lovely house. Or a fire from smoking in bed.

#3 I asked if they smoke, she says yes and she promises to smoke "outside" (read "garage"). It still stinks up the house. Plus they have 4 kids. AND a "very small dog" (probably a pit bull, they are short).

#4 I told her to call me an hour before we were planning to meet to tour the house but she didn't call. Some people use their foreign language ability to talk fast gibberish when I ask a touchy question.

#5 They were at the lease-signing stage and backed out because they couldn't produce a veterinarian's confirmation that the dog was spayed. Cost them $850 deposit.

#6 Have a dog they (falsely) said is a service dog, also not spayed and has no license or paperwork. Just trying to avoid paying pet fee. I believe spaying/neutering is required to get a dog a service license.

So am I nuts? The lovely house is sitting empty. It's in a very popular neighborhood, all new, but renters need to wise up about how much stress they can cause the landlord.

Jessie Randolph · Answer

Labeling them freaks is a bit harsh but no. I dont think is rent to them.  They seem to be leading with empty promises, have a bunch of kids, have shown you they cant follow directions.  Yes, your house is sitting empty but how long till they miss a payment then you have to go through the processes of evicting 4 kids and 4 adults.

Gabe Radovsky · Answer

"Would you rent your house to these freaks?"

"Some people use their foreign language ability to talk fast gibberish when I ask a touchy question."

"renters need to wise up about how much stress they can cause the landlord"

Based on everything you've said, I probably wouldn't want to rent to those tenants, and I definitely wouldn't want to be on any side of a business transaction with anyone who speaks about other people the way you do in this post.

Dennis M. · Answer

I’d rent to probably half of those folks but it really comes down to the asset class/ neighborhood. This is a business and so at the end of the day What good is a pretty clean house in a fine community .. that’s sitting vacant losing money everyday in holding costs taxes insurance mortgage water gas electric etc,.  because your worried if the tenants dog still has it’s balls or not

Theresa Harris · Answer

Why do you require pets to be spayed or neutered?  If you don't want pets or smokers, I'd tell them that as soon as they call you to book a viewing.  Many people don't bother to read the details of the ad.

Account Closed · Answer

I'm pretty on board with most of your frustration.  You should give back that security deposit, though.  Check the landlord-tenant laws for where the property is, but you generally can't keep money unless it cost you that much for whatever hardship they may have actually caused you.  If they sue you, you could be out of pocket for a lot more than just the deposit, if there is a bad faith penalty for landlords wherever your property is.

But, much better to keep it empty until you find a good tenant.

I'm curious if you may actually be underpriced.  If it's a popular area, you shouldn't have a hard time finding a good tenant - unless you're priced too low.  The good tenants may think something's wrong with it.  You might try advertising it for a higher price - maybe even a little higher than the market - and see what happens.

Michael King · Answer

@Anthony Wick I'm from Australia and I use my foreign language gibberish to my benefit. Luckily a lot of people don't understand what I say when I speak, otherwise I'd get in trouble from time to time.

Anthony Wick · Answer

@Jane S.

No to all smokers for me. Did the person that didn’t call before the appointment actually show up? I am, however, a little uncomfortable on you stating they “talk gibberish”. Bordering on discrimination there. Perhaps you’re just having a bad day.

Russell Cazeault · Answer

@Jane S.  A five bedroom house is going to experience some heavy use and wear & tear. I would be focused more on ability to pay and less on personal living habits.

I don’t smoke, but many who are in the rental market do.  It’s going to be kids or pets or smokers - pick your poison if you want your property to cash flow.

Carrie K. · Answer

I don't allow smoking so many of these would be out, but if I were you, I'd be really cautious about discriminating on the basis of people having illnesses / needing care (disability), having 4 kids (family status), or foreign language ability (ethnicity). I'd be cautious about being sure an animal's service status was fake. (I don't think they're required to be spayed necessarily.) I'd probably rent to #4 and maybe 5-6 if they had a landlord reference that the animal isn't harmful to property.

Michael King · Answer

@Jane S. Thanks for posting this Jane. I have a tenant in one of my houses that is a smoker. When offering the house to him, he agreed to smoke outside on the porch and it's written in the lease. I went inside the house a year ago to fix something and it stinks to heck of cigarettes. I thought about throwing him out, but since the damage is done, I'll let him stay and keep collecting his cash. Apart from the smoke, he's the perfect tenant.

Would you rent your house to these freaks?

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