All Forum Posts by: Amy Martin

@Amy MartinOk I would say this. Take a step back. Put their application in a file drawer. Sit down at your computer and write your rental criteria down. You should do this for two reasons. 1) it protects you in a discrimination case and 2) it protects you from making bad decisions when you are feeling pressed to fill a vacancy. The next thing is to promise yourself and anyone that you discuss these things with that you will never ever change your criteria to fill a vacancy. The reasons are the same as item 1 and 2 above. I would say this if I did what Lauren did and only considered income from unmarried couples based solely on the person with the most income all of my two+ bed units would be vacant and some of my one bed units would be as well. What about roommate situations do you require one roommate to carry the whole load? No. 

Again write down your criteria and screen against that criteria. Nothing you have stated so far would disqualify these folks for me and I would also do the following.

1) turn over every rock on them. Call employers, call former employers, call former former employers call previous, prior and current landlords.

2) Keep showing the property and taking applications. When more applications come in screen them as well while you are waiting for others to get back to you. Perhaps someone will come along in the mean time that you are able to screen faster and they end up getting approved before all the first applicants references get back with you.

While these folks are not super stable they are better than nothing IMO. Sometimes couples get together and it stabilizes them both and they end up being with your for multiple years. Sometimes it blows up and then one moves out and then they get back together. I happens with married people just the same in my observation. Sadly I don't really see more stability from a rental stand point between married couples than unmarried couples. 

Lastly write down your criteria then screen the applicants.

Good points above. Just be careful you don't disqualify due to the fact that they are unmarried, that is discrimination in FHA eyes. The other questions I would ask are:

1. How long have they been employed (I use 1 year of stable income)?

2. Is their credit report good/clean?

3. Talk to their current landlord and one before that and ask questions about if they were ever late, ever break terms, leave the place nice etc.

I would be very careful of throwing out their application, you need to have very specific criteria and guidelines that you need to follow for every applicant. If they don't meet the criteria then you have documented reasons for denying their application. Generally its safer to process applications first come first served, so make a decision on this couple then move onto others..

This is just my opinion, I have just done my first tenant turnover and it was enlightening. I learnt a lot about being very careful on how you qualify/disqualify applicants by using my criteria (and a scoring system-I think its makes it very clear cut, if they score X then they qualify, if they don't score X you can give the opportunity to score higher with a double deposit for example, except if there is an automatic disqualifier such as past eviction).

@amymartin these are all worthy suggestions! I would advise the following:

Develop a written rental criteria and stick to it. For example, income 2 1/2 to 3 times ratio to rent, credit score minimum of 690, no evictions in past 5 years, no outstanding collections of $1000 or more.

Have each adult married or not  fill out an application and go through screening process. Call the current and their previous landlord and ask specific questions about their payment history. For example, did they have any late payments or were there any tenant charges for repairs?

I also look at the credit report and check the income to debt ratio as a loan officer would. I want to know if they can afford the rent and still meet minimum payments on their other bills.

Also check with an attorney or take a Fair Housing class to ensure your rental criteria is non-discriminatory. 

Quality tenants will not mind this process and will be cooperative. Those who do mind or don't follow through aren't worth renting to.

Good luck!

@Amy Martinyou cannot deny someone for being unmarried. I am also not sure that denying someone because they are in the restaurant industry or because someone moves once a year is really acceptable either.  Your best plan is to establish criteria such as:

1. Income 3X monthly rent

2. Two rental references showing demonstrated ability to pay on time, leave property in good condition

3. Credit score of 600+

I am not saying this is your criteria, but find something similar that works for you. Stay away from using job type, marital status or perceived long term stability as your criteria. Just because she moved every year doesn't mean she will move this year. She is getting married and starting a new life. I used to worry about things like that, but I have learned it is hard to predict how long someone will stay.

End of the month is the best time to rent, because they need to give notice at their current place. If you pass on them, your place may sit vacant another month. I do take into consideration time of year and how early someone can move in. 

I am not telling you what to do, but you do need a legitimate reason for denying them. Then keep in mind every applicant needs to follow that criteria. In other words you cannot require 4X rent for the unmarried couple and only 3X rent for the married couple.

I would recommend reading up on fair rent practices just to protect yourself.

@Amy Martin

Hi Amy

You can always call a previous reference to see if they paid on time and how they were as tenants.  They make enough to pay the rent.  Do you have a multi family property or a single family home?

Gino