Here is where I am so far:
1. I will be running a background check on the two other adults, one for sure is her husband but I don't think he is working and the other is her father, not working. She has a son who is a football star in the area high school. Don't expect to get any glowing credit rating from them but want to make sure they have no criminal records.
2. Credit score of 773. Talked to her employer yesterday - HR department. They said "I have never met this employee so since she has worked her for 15 years that is a good sign at this company". She would not verify income without a verification form so I sent that to them yesterday and expect to hear back today.
3. I confirmed her previous, not current, landlord is legit. Tax records show he owns the property and the address on the application is his home address and tax records confirm that. Former landlord said she was never late on rent, broke the terms of her lease once but paid for that (had a nephew move in but paid $100 per month extra), left the place in great shape and her mother moved in right after her so his place was not vacant one day. Said, "I wish all of them were that good.
4. I have called twice to her current landlord. My place is in IL and her current landlord has moved to AZ. CAN I DECLINE HER IF I CHOOSE TO BASED ON NOT BEING ABLE TO TALK TO HER CURRENT LANDLORD WITHOUT WORRY OF LAWSUIT? I will keep trying to contact her to get the other side of the story.
5. Regarding deposit, potential tenant says: "I don't know if you remember that I explained to you I was doing a rent with option to buy from Rev. Jewell, she charged me initially $6300.00, first and last month and a $3700.00 administration fee. Something we will probably be going to small claims court for in the near future. Finding out later that she don't have rental licence, I decided not to buy because of the condition of the home and refusal to fix dangerous conditions of the home she started asking for an enormous amount of money and refused to return the deposit claiming it was so I could rent the home. At this moment my family and I cannot use the heat because Home Appliances said it is unsafe to operate and she is refusing to fix it. That is why I am trying hard to find a place for me and my family"
Any additional feedback will be appreciated. I'm new at this but I have read over and over again this is the most important step in making this a successful venture - getting the right tenant in. I have no other interested parties, maybe due to the time of year, but I am ok with leaving it empty to get the right tenant. But I don't want to refuse someone that has just had a bit of bad luck with her current landlord.
One last thought - I told her I typically require the last 5 landlords. She says she has only had two landlords. These go back 6 years. I do see an additional address on her credit report. Is there a way to find out if she owned or rented that place? Maybe tax records would show the owner at the time she lived there? If she is being honest, that third address must of been a home she owned or she was living with a relative....???
