Full year rent up front

[Sead Osmani]

Is it a good idea to accept a full year’s rent up front for a one-year lease? We have a potential tenant selling her house, so she will have cash to pay. Otherwise her credit score is too low, which she says is because she had cancer and wasn’t able to keep track of bills. She wants to stay for two years before moving out of state to build a new house. She wants to pay more per month and pay the entire year at once to secure the spot ahead of other applicants. She also wants to pay a pet deposit to make an exception to our no-pet policy.

[John Teachout]

Whether you accept her pet or not is up to you. I personally would accept an advance of a years rent but in some states that's not allowed. (put it in a bank account and debit each month) Also, I'd write the contract so she starts paying towards the rent before her nest egg runs out. ie, make her stay 2 months ahead or something so you have time to remove her if she doesn't pay. This year's rent up front is fairly common but you don't want to be blind to her background. She still needs to be screened.