All Forum Posts by: Brandon C.

Thank you all so much for the responses. 

@Ron H. - appreciate that

@Tiffany D.- I'll add the book to my list. Haven't heard of it. Looks to be good!

@Ryan B. Thanks for the tips. I need to get something that is easier to conceal in the summer, but it's something I will start doing. I do have my permit!

@Fred Grant - I thought the same - a transfer for that job? =)

Had 3 showings scheduled today. First one was a no-show, but wasn't a big deal because the 2nd was a family that had been my best phone screening to date. Showing went GREAT. I think they will apply and if everything checks out, they will be good tenants. Then my third showing arrived....

In speaking with him on the phone, there was no red flags. He was very average and nothing he said jumped out - good or bad. We chatted a few minutes. I told him my requirements and he said he'd love to see the house. 

Guy pulls up. He's dressed nice and has a nice car. However, as soon as he walked in the house, something felt off. Not sure what, but just didn't feel right. We (my and I) did our normal intro and chatted. He went through the house and looked over it and complimented several things. He finished up and we asked if he had any questions. He then sat down (first person to do this) and says "Well....I want to be up front with you. I'm in a pickle. My job transferred me up here from FLa few weeks ago. We can't find a place to stay and have been living in hotels. I need to get something quick and get settled before school starts. I do have 2 evictions that happened a while ago." 

I stopped him there and asked how long ago. He said one was 5 years ago and one was 3 years ago. I told him during the phone screening that I didn't take anyone with evictions.  

Then he starts talking about how he's desperate and really needs something soon. He said he's getting aggravated at how landlords won't have anything to do with him because of that. Then  he starts talking about being a skycap at the airport and that he only makes $2.13 an hour but makes great tips. His wife doesn't work. (Yes, I specifically told him a salary of 3x rent was required - rent is $1200). 

This guys keeps talking and talking and putting on a sob story. Then starts talking about "being in the ministry." My wife and I didn't realize it till later, but her shirt had a small Bible verse on it. Maybe he is involved in church, but it was odd at how he threw it out.

He ends up showing me his bank account on his phone - $1500 in it. I just happened to notice that Payless Car rental had withdrawn $200ish yesterday. I'm assuming now the car he's driving isn't his. He kept saying he would "hustle" some to get some money together.

I had never really considered bringing my concealed gun to a showing, but I was not happy with myself for not having it on me today. Had it not been such a weird vibe front the start, I would have just told him "no" after the eviction part and been done with it. However, that vibe and my wife being there, I just went along with it. He tried filling out an app there, but I told him his wife needed to complete one as well, so he should just do it with her and email it to me. 

I just got a text from him saying he would send it over shortly. What now? Is it ok for me to take the application and then wait a day and deny it due to the past evictions and then send an adverse action letter? Do I have to waste any time calling references?  I use mysmartmove.com, so I didn't collect any $$ today. I'd rather get this denied as quickly as possible and move on. 

Would love to hear some thoughts and advice from those with more experience than me, both in how I handled it during the showing and next steps. 

Appreciate you taking the time to read my post! :)

Wow, thanks for all the responses. I learned a lot! 

The house is vacant right now, but I'll probably pass on them. I'd rather have it vacant another month than have to deal with problems. 

Wanted to throw this out to see what you thought. Obviously, one red flag, but if everything else checks out, it seems like it might be ok. Would you consider these tenants?

Rent is $1200, and I’m required 3x that for salary, so they check out there.

• Two guys that have known each other and lived off and on together for 7 years.

• They both worked for same company in Colorado.

• Both have no problems with providing paystubs & references from recent landlords

• Guy #1:

• Credit score around 630

• Store Manager – Been with company for 3 years. Lived in Colorado but received a promotion and moved to Nashville.

• Salary is $54,000 with bonuses. On pace for $100k this year

• An eviction from 4 years ago in Colorado.

• §Story is – he’s fighting this. He was on a month to month lease at the time he left, he gave 30 days advance notice that he was leaving, was paid in full and completely up to date, and never should have been evicted in the first place. But, the fact is that it’s on his record.

• Guy #2

• Moved to Orlando to be with girlfriend about a year ago. Left the company he worked for in CO. Will resign from current company and go back to the same one he was with in CO – except at Nashville offices.

• Credit score is around 600

• Salary is currently $30k, but will be making $50k when he moves to Nashville and begins working with same company as Guy #1

Thanks everyone for the responses. Much appreciated. So, I did end up dropping the rent to 1195 on Saturday night. I had 3 showings tonight and 2 turned in applications! Something I thought was interesting, after dropping the price, the people that called or came to the showings were all older than the previous batch of showings. Perhaps it was just coincidence, but I thought that was interesting given just a $30 decrease. Again thanks so much for the help!

Hello! I have a SFH outside Nashville. Timing wasn't on my side when I closed. I knew it was going to be tight to get everything ready and hopefully rented by the time school started. I closed on the house on June 26th. Worked hard and repainted the whole thing and did some minor updating to get the house ready. Showings began on 7/5. I'm advertising on all the major free sites. Over the past week, I've had 15-20 calls/emails about the house. Had about 10 showings scheduled and 6 to actually show up. Right now there are 4 houses (including mine) for rent in the neighborhood close to the same sq ft as mine. I'm listed at 1225, then there are 2 at 1200 and one at 1250. I've had 1 couple apply and I denied due to them showing up 45 mins late to showing and they had terrible credit. One was going to apply until I told her (for 3rd time) no dogs. Another was going to apply except he had poor credit and his two room mates "didn't have credit". One couple loved house but master bedroom wouldn't fit their furniture. Another lady said she would be all over it if it was just her, but her and her friend each had teens that would have to share a room. Everyone has loved the house and how it looks. People say it's priced well. Just no takers. The reason I'm considering dropping price from $1225 to $1195 is school starts 8/10. I have 1 showing set up for Monday. Today is the first day I've not been contacted by anyone. Do I need to sit tight for another week or go ahead and drop price? Appreciate your help!

Got my first rental posted on all the major sites. I'm getting 1-2 calls/emails per day since 7/1. Below are my response numbers. 

Trulia gets a lot of traffic, but it's mostly out of state phone numbers and I never get return calls/emails. Is this common? 

How do these numbers look?

Overall #'s:

Contacted: 17 times

No returned calls/emails:  8

Showings Scheduled: 8

No Shows: 4

Applications: 1

• Zillow
  • Contacted by 6 people
  • 3 - They didn't return my calls when I told them requirements
  • 3 Showings 
  • 1 applied and I declined due to terrible credit/payment history & 45 minutes late to showing
  • Waiting to hear back from one couple that saw it late last night
  • 1 showing scheduled

• Trulia
  
  • Contacted by 7 people
    • 5 - Out of state phone numbers and don't respond to my emails or phone #'s
    • 1 showing, but didn't realize after me stating it 3 times that no pets were allowed
    • 1 no return call in

• Craigslist
  • Contacted by 4
    
    • 3 no shows
    • 1 showing scheduled for today - not expecting him to show up. 

Closed on my first house just over a week ago. Had a couple showings yesterday and one tenant filled out the application. I sent them to MySmartMove and they completed the background and credit check. 

I'm declining them for a number of reasons - particularly due to a terrible credit report. 

My question - Once I select "Decline" on the MySmartMove website, does it send them an adverse action letter or do I still need to do that separately? 

Thanks!

Thanks for the responses. @Kelly N., that's the exact things I'm looking at including. I wasn't sure if I needed to include those smaller things in the actual lease or as the addendum. Thanks again!

I close in just over a week on my first rental house. I've read on the forums for a while and I've kept a list of lines I want to add to my lease to avoid various problems. Should I work with with a local attorney to create a custom lease or use a basic TN lease that I downloaded from the realtor's association website and have everything else as addendums? Are there any pros/cons doing it one way vs the other? I was leaning toward using a local attorney but after reading some tonight, it has me wondering if I should go the other route. 

I think I'm starting to do too much research. :)