All Forum Posts by: Cameron Riley

@Cameron Riley  I try to keep the applications down. For one home I usually get about 60 interested and only  maybe 10 to  show, the rest being pre-screened out by me or themselves. Max applications I have seen on that house at about the same time is 6 and 5 didn't qualify.  For student rentals  2 groups apps max.  For apartments I normally see 1-2 ,  max 3.  I would turn them all down if not qualified. 

We don't delete posts.

I also only put the minimum in the ad so they have to call me to get more info. I want to talk to them so I can close them.

I also only put the minimum in the ad so they have to call me to get more info. I want to talk to them so I can close them.

No. It is asking for a law suit. Someone will feel discriminated against because of the criteria you post and once posted, it will be used as evidence against you. I accept all applications and evaluate based on my criteria.

This is a good article  What is Rental Housing Discrimination? 

We use a scoring system.

Stated criteria, pretty broad since we pay the screening fees:

Our Criteria:

We do not deny housing for race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, sexual orientation, marital status, or familial status.

We do deny housing to individuals:

• when the application is not complete or accurate
• where there is not sufficient income/resources to pay rent and live
• where there is poor prior tenancy: evictions, violations, damage to rental property, poorly handled move outs, amounts are still owing to landlords or utilities.

Criminal activity is at our discretion depending on severity, number of convictions, and how long ago.

We look for Income in sweet spot: rent 28%-31% of income, applicants who don't move every year (per credit report), applicants with bank accounts, non smokers, a verifiable stable source of income, landlord references, etc.  None of these are individually a deal breaker, but the scoring system gives an overall assessment and the highest scoring applicant gets an offer to rent.  Too low and it stays empty.

@Cameron Riley I would categorize this as unethical. It is 1 unit, and you will be picking 1 person. 20-25 paying applicants seems excessive. Just my opinion :)

 Are you using Facebook Marketplace? Craigslist? That's a lot of people going that far in the process!

One of our investors threw out on Craigslist a ranch he rehabbed & to his surprise he immediately had 20+ applicants, he emailed them applications, most of whom Venmo'd the application fees. I can only assume he reimbursed those rejected. 

We had a semi-rural trailer park here where the manager put a rundown trailer for sale on craigslist for $600. She took $25 from each person applying. I knew a couple of handyman types who went through it with their significant others & they paid the fees. The kid working maintenance at the park did some rehab for me for several months & he told me she probably had 10-20 a month applying as he would take them through it after-hours & weekends. It ran for at least 8 months that year & apparently never 'sold'. After the winter months it popped up again, same routine.