All Forum Posts by: Malik R.

This FTC site has good summary with examples. It states that Adverse Action Notices may be delivered electronically and also emphasizes that "you must securely dispose of the report and any information you gathered from it".

One of the examples is
A landlord who makes it a practice to approve an application if the
prospective tenant shows an adequate income or has a favorable credit
report, is dealing with an applicant who has an inadequate income and a
bad credit report.

What if the reason for declining application is inadequate income and not the credit report? Is a notice still required?

Further, the source of income verification is not the credit reporting company but rather the tenant background check company. Should the applicant be referred to the background check company?

Our SFH is about to be occupied by a new tenant. The previous one did not keep the house clean and I had to deal with roach infestation. The Pest Control clause in our lease was not adequate. I'm looking for a good Pest Control addendum that experienced members can share for adding to the lease agreement. Thank you.

Naborly reports include name of the credit reporting agency Equifax. Their mailing address for the reporting agency is Equifax Information Services LLC P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30374. You can find their phone number at their web site.

We're in California. We list a brief qualification criteria in our rental ads which includes 3 times the monthly rent, have no evictions, clean background check, no violent criminals, and have good credit history and 650+ credit score.

I have seen examples of Adverse Action Notices that list a bunch of check boxes for reason of denial such as Unable to verify required minimum income, eviction filing or judgement, no credit file, criminal record, delinquent past or present obligations, does not meet minimum required Credit Score etc. Does one need to be this specific?

As Nathan advised above "If it is based on something else, like a bad Landlord reference, then you do not have to provide an Adverse Action Letter but you should notify them they've been denied." I realize that the letter is required for compliance with FRCA but is it desirable to issue a letter if it is something other than credit report related?

With multiple adults in a household, each person applies with their background check run individually and some screening companies provide a general assessment of whether a person has a high probability of success as a renter. 

For example, the applicant makes $2,500/month, GF gets $1,500 pension and her 23-year-old son makes $1,000. Individually each is assessed at higher risk as a tenant but together they make the 3 times rental income. If any of them leaves, the rest won't meet the minimum income criteria.

How does one develop a joint analysis of the family unit?

Perhaps it's not surprising that most people do not read the ad. Even if we clearly state that we don't participate in Section 8 program, but they still keep asking.

After a few weeks of advertising, responding to queries, screening and showing, we still don't have a good prospect. Our desired rent is on par with the market. Is it just the time of the year and do we need to do something different?

We cleaned up our single family property after it was vacated, fixed a few things, had the carpets in bedrooms professionally cleaned, and painted all the interiors. Then advertised at Craigslist, Zillow and FB Marketplace. Over one week, there were 78 inquiries through Zillow, 2 through Craigslist and 53 through FB Marketplace.

We held an open house (5 families showed up) and then decided to pre-screen using a Google Form and schedule viewings for reasonable prospects (with sufficient income and no pets). Only 9 of the 100+ inquiring people actually filled out the pre-screening form and 5 of them were invited to view the property.

We gave people the choice to fill out paper application and pay $35/adult for background screening or apply for free through Naborly. Only 1 picked up the paper application. Thirty (30) people were emailed application link through Naborly. Of those, 13 applications were opened but none was completed.

What could we do differently to improve our chances of finding a qualified renter?

Thank you all for your sound advice. Sometime emotions interfere with being honest with ourselves which results in poor business decisions. I'm already regretting keeping the inherited tenants over these years without going through the vetting process and bringing them up to market rate at that time. Lesson learned.

We had a lawyer friend suggest adding a clause for timely payment discount because it incentivizes the renter to pay on time. Late payment fee calculation can be difficult as it is supposed to be no more than the actual cost to the owner for lateness of payment.

We have a single family rental home in a mid-sized town in northern California. It is 1,212 sq ft 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage home in decent shape. When we purchased the property 6 years ago, we let the existing tenant stay at $900/month. Two years ago, we increased the rent to $1,000. The renter always pays the rent but it is always 5-10 days late and he voluntarily pays a late fee of $25. It's a single earner family that has not given me any trouble so far.

Three years ago we had to replace the HVAC system and last year we replaced the roof and installed a new water heater. We're about to replace the bathtub/enclosure (est: $2,500-$3,500) in one bathroom because the bathtub have developed a crack. Property taxes are about $1,200 and insurance runs around $500.

The lease has been month-to-month since we bought the property. I verbally informed him in early December that rent will increase in February. 

I've done rental market estimates and they are:

Zillow: $1,550

Zilpy: $1,494-$2,160

Rentometer: $1,750 (median)

MyRentalRates: $1,550 (Looks like they use Zillow estimate)

I would like to write a new lease that can stay month-to-month but at a rental of $1,250 with $50 discount if paid on time and then increase it by another $100 every 6 months until it gets close to the market rate. Not sure about the process but here's what I'm thinking:

1- First speak to him in person and inform him of my intention to terminate the current lease and write up a new one and that I'll be sending him a letter through certified mail so it is not a shock to him. He doesn't speak English very well so his adult daughter will be our translator.

2- Send him a letter of termination of the current month-to-month lease with 60 day notice and offer of a new month-to-month lease at the new rate & terms, to be effective in 60 days (to coincide with end of his current lease).

Please share your thoughts whether I am going about it the right way and if I should do anything differently.

Thank you.