Tenant Applies Online, Offers $ Down & Takes Month To Drive-By

[Anne Taylor]

I placed my rental ad on the Zillow / Trulia / HotPads portal and received many generic requests to tour the unit or provide additional information. The ad clearly states that the unit is not available for interior viewing until early July due to current occupancy and CV-19 regulations in region.

A young man applied for the unit via the Zillow portal and then messaged me that he would pay the first month's rent and deposit immediately to secure the unit, sight unseen. However, he alleges that he lives in general region. According to his first 2 messages, he selected my unit for significant cost-savings over his current rental. His application provided an employer and landlord contact.

What strikes me as unusual is that he seems to be local, but he showed no interest in even driving by unit to see outside and neighborhood until almost a month later. When he confirmed that he had finally driven-by, he wrote several paragraphs about the general area and confirmed overall that issues observed would not be a deterrent. I wonder if the attention to detail on his latest message, however, was due to picking up on my concern that he should be more familiar with the entire living setting, commutes, local amenities, etc. rather than just the rental charge.

Do tenants who pick rentals solely for cheapness-budget fit and live locally but do not bother to check-out exterior or neighborhood before applying present any greater risks of being difficult tenants? Or, would they be more motivated to be good tenants as the bargain price is important to them and they are not readily swayed but cosmetic or neighbor factors?