Turning away applicants

[Pete Woelfel]

Hi All,

I'm currently marketing a property with a vacancy in Milwaukee and ran into something that I'm sure is routine for many of you but is actually a first time for me.  I'm asking interested parties to complete an application online on zillow.  This costs them $40 and gives me a background check, credit check, etc.  My past experience has been that the people willing to pay the $40 up front are the people who meet our preferred criteria (income 3x rent, 600+ credit rating and clean background check).  For the first time, I've run across someone who submitted the application but does not meet multiple criteria (income and credit rating).  If I decide that this person is not the right fit as a tenant, what kind of explanation do I owe them, especially if I don't rent the unit right away and it stays on the market?  Can I just say the application was not approved?  I'm assuming I can legally say no for any reason that's not a protected class and credit rating and income are not protected classes.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Marcus Auerbach]

@Pete Woelfel I am going to borrow advice from Mike Butler's book on Landlording, he used to be a cop and is literally street smart. Here is what he says:

Don't give anyone a hard rejection! Rather tell them they are just not the best and ranked maybe number 2, maybe you need more information or documentation. It protects you, plus nobody wants to be told they are not good enough and rejected.

The issue will Zillow online apps is also that they are time stampted. I prefer a paper application, because I will review all of them in the same week, not one at 8pm and the next at 7am. After they are ranked I invite the best one to run a background check with for example MySmartMove.

In the current political climate you can get in trouble even if your heart is in the right place and you are trying hard to do the right thing, so be extra careful!