Hi Robert,
I'd be cautious about renting to them but that doesn't mean I wouldn't. Try to determine specifically why they are having to short sale their house. When did they buy their house? Are they like everyone else and bought when the market was high and just couldn't hang on anymore? If so, that just means they have difficulty in reading market signals and is no reason to not rent to them. If they have bought in the last few years that might be an indication a propensity to live beyond their means as most of the market correction had already occurred in Hills, Pasco, Pinellas counties. Make sure you call the employers to verify income and the length of their employment. Pay attention to what they spend their money on. For instance when they arrive for the showing have they spent a lot of money on a flashy car, car accessories, clothes, etc. People broadcast what their priorities are. We only have to listen.
Protected classes fall under 7 categories. As long as you choose not to rent to them via one of these reasons you're fine.
Race, Skin color, Religion, Gender, National Origin, Disability, Familial Status
Most of these are pretty straight forward except for the last two. You can not ask about disability unless they bring it up. Even then you may only discuss how it would impact the living arrangements. You may not ask about how it happened, or the details of the disability.
Familial status also can be tricky. Pregnant women are included in this class as well. You can't ask how many kids they have or are planning to have.
You have to be careful or else you open yourself to a lawsuit that has teeth if you treat people differently. I remember one time when I was new and I was touring a couple that had kids. I asked how old the kids were. I was asking so I could tell the parents what school they would go to and activities that were local that would be conducive to that age range of kids.
I was lucky the parents were "cool". If that had been a government tester or someone looking to make a buck I could have been sued. That line of questioning violates the familial status protected class.
Make sure you base your decision on economic factors such as job length, ability to pay rent, what is their credit like? or observational factors such as is their car clean?, Do they smoke?, Did they arrive at the showing blasted or high?
None of these indicators are a protected class. Just make sure you log each potential tenant and detail meticulously why you did not rent to them. Make sure it isn't any reason that can be traced back to the protected seven classes and you should be ok.
Make sure you check with your local municipality and state government for additional classes. Ones of the horizon if not already enacted in some areas are sexual orientation, veteran status, and ultimately genetic information.
Basically just treat everyone the same. Good luck!
