Tenants Moving Into Your Property

[John Akhlaghi]

Good Evening This is John Akhlaghi, 

I had recently finished moving into my condo in Jacksonville, Florida which is a student rental and I had just finished rehabbing it just by painting the rooms. The potential tenant came to see the house today and he had liked the place. He is nice and I assuming is smart because he is an engineering major. I believe he had the impression that he wanted to move when he arrived at my house because he had all of his stuff in his car and was disappointed when he found out that he found he would not be moving in today.

He stated that he was not paying rent at his old place because he was staying with special needs kids. He did not explain the full situation, but the place where he was staying at has been having bad management problems. 

I received his employer's contact information and his previous landlord's information. I am planning to contact them as soon as possible, but I am unsure of what specific questions to ask them. For the employer, I was thinking does he come to work on time, and is he good to work with. For the landlord, I was thinking if he pays on time and keeps the place clean. 

I was also wondering when should I let him move in and if I should present the lease before he moves in my place? I was thinking Saturday was a good day for him to move in because we are still waiting on insurance quotes and on the internet to be setup. 

I was also wondering what I should charge for the late fee? I was thinking five percent of the rent which is $650. So the late fee would be $32.5 for the late fee which would be implemented five days into the month. 

Thank you, 

John 

[Matthew Walker]

I would say RUN, not walk away from this potential tenant. A few red flags in the small amount of detail:

#1 - showing up in a car with "all his stuff" - I know that people hit the skids and things get away from them, but someone wanting to make an impression would have handled this a little differently. 

#2 - leading with not paying rent - he's admitted he's skipped out on rent up front. Again, everyone has a story (and I've done the same a few times), but that's not something I'd open up with a potential landlord as my initial introduction.

#3 - expecting to move in right away - having unrealistic expectations about how things work. This isn't like putting a man on the moon, this is a fundamental skill. Maybe he just arrived from Mars and has absolutely no idea how things work here on Earth. But ... he does know rent is due and he didn't pay. 

#4 - As far as asking about the employer questions, I'd just verify that he's employed for starters. Not sure what relevance being an engineering major is. It's not a proxy for intelligence. All you know is that he has said he's gone to school. 

Could go on, but I recommend staying far away from this prospect and seeing who else pops up. Put him on a waiting list and contact in a few days if you really are feeling charitable.