Would you rent your house to these freaks?

[Jane S.]

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.

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @Jane S.:

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.

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.

[Jessie Randolph]

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.

[Michael King]

@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. 

[Theresa Harris]

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.

[Dennis M.]

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

[Nathan Gesner]

If you have to ask, they are not good prospects.

You need to be clear on your policies. For example, instead of asking if they smoke and then saying they must smoke outside, make it clear that you do not allow smoking inside the rental or any other structure and tenant must be 10 feet away from any entrance or open window.

I don't allow puppies. Tenant should have at least one recent Landlord reference with the animal so you have evidence their animal doesn't tear the place up or pee everywhere. I have the same policy for rescue dogs. When the animal is new to the renter, there's no evidence the animal is behaved or that the Tenant knows how to train/maintain them. NO!

What is your occupancy limit? If you don't have one, you should. Two people per bedroom. This is eight occupants so you would need to have a four-bedroom property.

They sound risky but it could also be a good family with a puppy and a couple smokers that would be responsible. I used to smoke and never smoked inside my rental. The puppy is the only automatic denial for me.

[Jane S.]

Of course i have policies AND of course they are in the ads, BUT prequal is a requirement and if they cant answer truthfully and I find out they lied, its automatic NO. Their phone behavior is a clue as well. Many calls are in the midst of a lot of noise. So if they cant find a quiet spot i tell them to call back when its quiet on their end. Theresa, my first Q is "do you have a pet". My next one is "do you smoke". My policy is no smoking anywhere on premises. It's in the ads but you're right they don't read. Just expect me to jump to their schedule. #5--Spaying prevents male dogs from hanging around (possible aggression), and puppies are destructive as h-ll! If they are too lazy to spay or neuter, they won't properly care for the pet. Dogs NEED to be walked, its a health concern. I'm not seeing that happening with my tenants because they are too busy/lazy so are their kids.

Sue K, i like your answer the best. I am asking about a dollar per sq ft which is average for the location but I am playing around with $50/month here & there. #5--They signed a contract agreeing to forfeit the deposit which was NOT a security deposit, it was to hold the property till they could move in. Their landlord wouldn't refund their rent for Jan.

Very few landlords tell the whole story when I call them. We should visit their apt to see how they live. But I dont think I could stand that. Some owners clean rugs after every move out anyway, so the dog damage is moot.

[Jane S.]

THANKS everyone for your helpful posts. Proving I am on the right track with my policies and not wasting time any more. I am on my way to get carpal tunnel surgery. Rather do that than listen to some of these freaks' lies.

[Jane S.]

It has 5 beds so occupancy 10. However, there may be a limit in my town no matter the count of bedrms.=

Smoking on the porch will still stink up the house due to air movement & frequency. Hope you can raise the rent to cover costly de-stinking. He's obviously smoking inside.

[Anthony Wick]

@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]

@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.

[Michael King]

@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.

[Gabe Radovsky]

"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.

[Carrie K.]

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. 

[Iris Cruz]

@Jane S.

Hello Jane,

I had a good laugh while reading your post .

You have good material for stand up comedy .

I feel your pain, here in Australia I had some diamonds coming for inspection and I was getting very frustrated for wasting my time driving there and talking to the jokers .

I’m sure soon you will find a lovely tenant.

Good luck

[Jane S.]

I love to watch stand up comedy but so far no one has done a routine about "games tenants play" and what happens when landlords uphold their rules. I also love it when they tell me the price of the rental doesn't matter "we have plenty money". Then when its time to pay cash for the background report, boy do they run! The most recent joker wants to move in with her dad, daughter, autistic grandson (i have no problem with him, just pity), granddaughter, son in law, & 2 chiwawas, and the son in law is the ONLY one with a job. How about a reality series on Netflix, contestants have 3 days to get a lease signed by tenants that conform to a list of requirements? Any "angels" out there?

Today was a Hispanic rush. They persist even when I explain that if they can't speak English they can't sign the lease. Michael King you are spot on. 

OK please from now on don't teach me the basics of tenant due diligence, I've got that.