All Forum Posts by: Lori Schaffer

Hello friends, I have a tenant application from a married couple from Australia. The husband is a U.S. national with an SSN. His wife is Australian, and does not have a U.S. SSN. He has a work history in the U.S. but has spent the last 3 years in Australia. How do I do a background check on them?

Is there a background check agency in Australia. I have been using TenantTracks for background checks for U.S. applicants.  

Any advice will be helpful!

Hello friends, I have a rental application with a son, his wife, two kids, and mother. I just received the background check, and the mother has horrible credit, with $15k in collection, and several credit cards closed with bad debt. I would not rent to her if it were just her. The son's credit check is fine. Should I rent to them as a group anyway? Or are there other red flags? I consider that the young couple might be moving in for the purpose of getting their mother situated in a place, and then they will move out. Should I put something into the lease to prevent me getting stuck with just her? What? Any advice will be helpful.

 If they were hoarders, you would not be able to see the floor.

Hello friends, How do you verify creditworthiness/reliability when renting to foreigners? Especially one who speaks a foreign language? Currently, I am asking for landlord references, bank info, etc. Do credit check agencies check foreigners? I would appreciate any help or suggestions.

Hi Alex, Thanks so much for your assessment. We need a fridge also, so that's another $500 or so. I'll take your advice and call around for prices.

Where can you buy kitchen cabinets for $4000? And appliances for $800? We are in Fairfield County, Connecticut, one of the richest counties in the U.S., and I cannot even find cabs or appliances for that. I was quoted $5000 just to paint cabinets in a condo. Re-tinting is $10,000 and new ones are $20k.

Hi Julie, This thread struck a chord with me. Thanks so much for asking the question and starting this topic. I didn't have much money as a child, so I became a "saver". I'm not so consistent that I am OCD about it, but there is a lot of overlap in my habits of thought and yours. One phrase that I heard from a spiritual healer once is, "Money is love." I've pondered this on occasion, and I think that extra money can be used in beautiful ways to make the world a better place and help people around us who genuinely need it. We can use extra money to have lunch with friends, join social organizations (as someone suggested), donate to charities or organizations that interest you, buy beautiful things, see beautiful and awe inspiring places, etc. So, next time you're looking at a dollar, ask Lincoln, "how can you and I make the world a more loving place?"  Another spiritual approach to dealing with money is expressing gratitude when paying bills. As you look at the charges in your credit card or other statement, you can be grateful for the food that nourished you, the farmers, truckers, distributors, stores that sold it. And you can be grateful for all the workers in the world who helped bring you gasoline to your local station. And so on with other ordinary expenses.

I wish you all the best as you try to change your habits of thought into those that bring you more peace.