All Forum Posts by: Paul Ronto

I agree with @Kelly N. , it will be hard to get three roomies to each qualify for 3x of the total rent, that's 9x of the monthly rent altogether. I would say collectively they need to qualify, or if you want to look at them individually they should each make 3x more than their 1/3 of rent, that way no one person is supporting the others. I rent to a lot of college students and 3x of the total rent for one person almost never happens, but they are splitting the risk by having roommates, which are all on the lease and all responsible for rent. I do co-signers a lot as well, so student and parent combined usually easily have the 3x criteria met. 

Yes, it's a bit more risky for me as the landlord but I haven't had an issue with this criteria on a roommate situation yet. 

My advice is still screen him as you would any other candidate. Pull credit, criminal and eviction history. Set your criteria and stick to it. He could be a great tenant, but he could also be friends with the current landlord after 8 years and just ask him to give him a glowing recommendation (not likely but possible) of like said above, the landlord could just need him out ASAP... There's plenty of scenarios, most likely he's ok, but do your due diligence before you sign a lease. 

Good luck, let me know how it goes. 

Are you looking for just a way to collect rent or a system that helps you manage your rental all together? There are services that allow you to collect online rent payments as well as have the added functionality to help you manage your properties all in one place for free. To me that's more valuable than venmo.

Plus on the topic of LLC issues, you can set those online services up with your LLC bank account so renters are depositing directly into your business account.

An LLC does, in fact, protect you personally from litigation surrounding your rental. You're LLC can be sued, but your personal assets are shielded from things pertaining to your rental, so if you are collecting rent on Venmo to your personal account there could be issues. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I'd be hesitant to collect payment personally for my LLC.

Hope that helps a bit. 

As a landlord that live in a college town, I have to say, I've had much more success renting to students than non-students. They can tend to leave the place a mess, but have always been willing to have parents co-sign, pay a premium for rent, and for the most part cause me fewer issues than non-student tenants throughout the life of the lease. Sure, there's more painting and new carpet than I'd like but, that's usually always covered by their deposit and most don't put up a fuss since they realize that they were the cause of the damage. 

Regardless, your situation sounds a little different, sounds like you are feeling rushed in your screening process, which should be a red flag. Take your time doing your due diligence. One issue that you'll see with Foreign Exchange students is you won't be able to pull official screening reports most of the time, since the big credit bureaus require a SS#. You can however usually call references and get a good feel for the tenant if you're inclined to skip that step and rent to them. 

Like any prospective renter though, the better you are at screening, the better return you'll most likely see from your property and your relationship with your tenants. 

Good luck and let us know if you have any other concerns. 

@Melissa Bogle  The reason a lot of software companies are not providing contracts is because every state and even some counties and cities have specific language that needs to accompany legal documents concerned with housing and rentals, so they'd have to provide hundreds if not thousands of versions of these documents. I'm more than happy though to help you find what you are looking for. Feel free to reach out directly if you have some specific forms you're looking for and I'll point you in the right direction. 

Good luck!

@Micki Larkin hit the nail on the head, you can never be too careful. More due diligence and more screening usually never hurts. 

That helps for sure, thanks for supplying. This is a tough one. If she is family and not responsible for any of the rent, it could go either way. If she's not on the lease, she's technically a "Guest" which some landlords have issues with long-term guests, so you could ask for screening verification based on that if it's in your lease. 

I would say if you are going to add her to the lease obviously do a screening report, and no matter the system you are using you'll most likely have to have them "apply" since you otherwise won't have their personal information to run the background checks. You cannot connect a background check to another person, the way the credit agencies work is each pull needs to have unique identifiers like name, SS#, address, DOB at minimum. 

Good luck, hope this helps, let us know how it goes. 

I agree with the other comments. All adults should be on the lease and have proper screening done. Is there a specific reason you ask? Do you have a particular situation that you're trying to get advice for? 

I would think there could be a few exceptions to this, like an adult (18+) living with his parents still, or if someone over 18 was living with a caretaker due to health reasons. But I have yet to come across those situations personally so far. 

Let us know if there are more specifics and we'll try to help. 

I think there are a few easy things you can do to get more online applications for your property. 

1. Put more photos on your listing: people forget what places look like that they have seen, or are very hesitant to apply and spend the money without a good idea of what every part of the house looks like. Make sure to post pics of the outside front and back, kitchen, living areas, bedrooms, bathrooms and any patio area. Guys like photos of the garage as well. If you have time snapshots of the rest of the house, but if not, make sure to get at lease great photos of those areas. 

2. Respond to leads quickly: Renters are calling multiple properties, so respond ASAP or you may loose their interest. 

3. Market Online: This should seem obvious, but if not, make sure you are marketing online and allowing people to apply online. No one likes to fill out paper apps anymore or find a printer to print them out. 

4. Post To Craigslist: Post to all the big listing sites, but also post to Craigslist. Almost 50% of local renters are still looking there. 

5. Make it easy to apply: Invite your prospects to apply by sending them the direct link to your app when they inquire, don't make them search for it. 

Hope this helps! Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions, happy to help. 

Feel free to reach out directly if you have questions @Andrew McIntyre , happy to help where I can.