All Forum Posts by: Angie W.

@Mike Harvey

@Mike Harvey

@Mike Harvey They could be a good tenant or they could be a bad tenant. BUT it sounds like they don't meet your rental criteria (which you should have in writing) which is reason enough to say "I'm sorry but you don't meet my requirements for this property."

That being said - I would not want to rent to someone who had all kinds of dogs coming and going. What is your pet policy? I specify that I will only consider 1 dog under 20lbs, no puppies, viscous breeds, or visiting pets of any kind.

I would not agree to rent to someone sight unseen. When you get to town, look me up and we can talk then. If you want to pre-qualify yourself ahead of time and pay an app fee, I might consider that, but I don't know - never faced that situation.

New job can be a hairy situation, boyfriend w/o job even more so. You could possibly get verification, but this would make me uneasy.

In the end, it is your decision, and most times a gut feeling is pretty accurate. Stick to your rental criteria and follow the same procedure for everyone - it is the easiest way to make an educated - not emotional - business decision.

You bring up some good points @Jerry W.

I'm really glad to see the responses here. I have seen some good advice on how to be proactive rather than reactive.

@Dawn Anastasi You are right most people are good people. However, I didn't see anyone here advocating violence unless it was in fun. I do feel though that it is when you let your guard down you become more vulnerable. You should always be aware of your surroundings, not only when dealing with property, but always. For the most part we are all dealing with strangers, and in the day of the internet (where you may advertise online) you never know who you are dealing with or where they may be from.

As it has been mentioned earlier, most people don't think it can happen to them - until it does. I brought up this topic to raise awareness not to instill fear and distrust in people. I have only felt uneasy once, after my husband served an eviction notice that had to include my home address, at a rental where the occupant (not our tenant, but leftover girlfriend) was mentally unstable and abusing prescription drugs.She also had moved in a new boyfriend that had just been release from prison.

Although I am not terrified to go show our property or to deal with our tenants, I am cautious and think about my personal safety and that of my family. Money and things can be replaced, people can't. I'd rather be cautious than dead.

@Christopher Dittemore thanks for the suggestions.

I don't have a mortgage and my holding costs are about $60 per month. Other than losing the monthly rent that is. I can live with that. My biggest concern is vandalism at this point.

Believe me if I had a friend that would take calls for me I would gladly pay them for the service.

For some reason I am having trouble getting referrals for PM companies. The few that I have contacted either will not return my calls or contracts are written in a way that doesn't provide me with much protection.

Would love to find a leasing agent - but it seems they are not plentiful here as I have not been able to find one.

@Rob K. you have a point about defense.

I think I will check into self defense classes and take my teen daughter along with me. She will be headed off to college soon and we both would benefit from it.

Perhaps a weapon of any kind - like a screwdriver, or large flashlight as someone mentioned earlier would serve you better than any type of spray.

I wouldn't respond. If your phone # is in the ad they would call if interested.

I got a strange email from a Craigslist ad today also...I did respond with a link back to my ad - it contains any info someone needs to know. If you want to know anything beyond that you will call me.

Wow - my last occupant had me pretty irate but I am glad that I didn't get to that point.

This goes to show how frustrating the courts/law can be to deal with when trying to evict someone. Makes some of the more unstable among us to take things into their own hands.

@Susan Pompea I can totally understand that you are gun shy after evicting someone who has wrecked your place. I went through this myself in July and my house is still vacant - took me 6 weeks to get the house back in order, and then we decided to take care of some other improvements that we didn't do before the last tenant. I have been trying different things over the last 6 weeks to get the vacancy filled but so far no dice.

1. you could ask for tax returns to verify the self employment income - also does he own his own shop, does he work out of his current homes garage? This would be important info to know

2. If you don't want to rent it for less - don't do it. Some people just want to see if they can save some money. If they really want it they will pay what you are asking.

3. Some people are just cheap - and some people just lie about their income. Won't know until you do the check.

4.If this is true then you shouldn't have any problem finding tenants at your asking rate.

5.If you haven't even started advertising and are getting great response, why lower the rent right now? Sounds like you have a nice house in a nice neighborhood that will rent well.

And to your last point...even the most thorough screening will not root out 100% of problem people but it sure helps. As you have learned always run all the checks, i.e. criminal, credit, rental references, employment/income, social media, etc.

Don't be afraid to deny someone when something doesn't look right. I have denied every applicant so far. I would rather have the property set empty for a little while longer than put a problem tenant in there that will cost me a lot more in the long run.

For this particular couple, my answer to the lower rent would be "I'm sorry but the rent is firm @ $$ and the longest lease I will do at this time is x months. If you would like to be considered these are the things I need from you" I also agree that someone that wants to move in 11 days could be trouble - or maybe they just are last minute people. Who knows what makes some people tick?

In the past my husband has always been the bouncer. He alerts the next door neighbor as to what he is doing and walks up to the door and posts the notice.

@Deborah Burian that is a scary story about the LL being killed. I don't know if I can hire a sheriff here to serve notice - I've never heard of anyone doing it. I know that they will do a set out - which basically means they are there while you clear out the house and set it out to the curb - they will only set people out to the curb, not their stuff.

As for defense, I will have to look into pepper spray or mace. I am not against guns for people who are comfortable with and skilled at using them, but I have always been afraid that someone would get it away from me and hurt me with it. I also like the idea of a big flashlight.

@Rob K. my dad taught me a long time ago the best defense against a man. First the groin, if you can't get that, the eyes, and if possible nail them square in the nose as hard as possible.

@George C. thanks for mentioning that! I had forgotten that you could do that and frankly never thought about it for RE. I will be checking into this tomorrow. I know it is still possible to connect the dots - but it would take a lot more work to find.