Newbie - 1st Applicants And Need Advice Please!
Hi, My husband and I are taking applications to rent out our first investment home. The very first couple to look at it filled out applications. They aren't married so I had them fill out two separate applications so I could run two separate credit reports. The woman is only 20 and has a 2yr old son. When I ran her credit report nothing came up. Only a couple of inquiries. She has only been working since June of this year. Her salary wouldn't qualify for her to rent this house on her own. Her fiance' had a credit report come up and the score was 620. I'm not familiar with looking at these reports so I need someone's input. He has 4 satisfied accounts, 6 that were delinquent/derogatory and 14 that are now delinquent/derogatory. 9 of the 14 are from a municipal court in the same city, 2 municipal courts from another city, and 1 from a different city. Mostly $65 to $70 sent to collections but some are $350 and $753. Would this likely be speeding tickets and such or should I be running a criminal report? Another thing on the credit report is for state dept/rev/child support and dhsh and it says payroll deductions. Total debt owing is about $6800. I haven't gotten a call back from the previous landlord yet but the prospective tenants are claiming they always are ahead when paying their rent. He makes enough to qualify to cover the rent for our home. He says he has worked the same job for 4 1/2 yrs but I haven't verified that yet. My gut instinct when I first met the couple was good, but now I'm kind of wondering what the credit report is really telling me. We advertised 1st month & deposit but now I'm thinking if we did go with these people to ask for last months up front also. Since the female applicant has no credit history should I get her to get a co-signer. She said that her mom would probably be one if I needed it.
Sorry for the long story. I'm thankful for any input.
It doesn't sound too promising to me. Wait for the landlord to return your call - personally I consider the current landlord's testimony to be very crucial. Meanwhile, keep advertising & meeting new prospective tenants.
Don't worry about these people calling you up and asking about it. If the truth is you're still waiting to hear back from their landlord, tell them so. And if you rent it to someone else, all I ever do is apologize and explain that someone else's information came through faster.
Past history is the greatest predictor of future behavior. If you cant get a better tenant, I'd get the mother to co-sign, verify her income and make sure she lives nearby in the event you have to go to court to collect back rent. Losing one or two months rent waiting for a good tenant is better than losing four months rent while evicting and getting an ulcer. Good luck.
You might consider contacting the previous two landlords or managers. This way you avoid the possibility that the current landlord is saying good things just to get rid of a bad tenant. Also, if you get two part harmony that the tenant is a good tenant, this is a very good sign.
I recently rented to a tenant who had recently come out of bankruptcy, but did so on the glowing reports of two landlords. So far he seems to be an excellent tenant.
Thanks you for your replies. I did contact the previous landlord to this and it was an apartment complex and they only showed her as the tenant but the application they filled out showed that this apt. was his previous tenancy also. Anyway, I was told that she paid on time and no complaints but some damage to the apt. No details as to what that entailed though. I'm pretty much going to weigh my decision from your replies and the response from the current landlord. They rented from him for a year so he should be able to give me some insight.
Now, without seeing the reports, here is what I 'see'.
1. Somebody else rented to her previously, yet she did not have income at that time, or credit. = fishy
2. He lived there without being on the lease. = fishy
3. Damage stated. =concern Must know more.
4. He has his wages garnished for not paying child support. ? From her ? ? Other children? ?Is he married ? =too much not clear here.
==Is that the current landlord? Have they given 30 day notice? Moved already? Uh-Oh!
I keep an eagle eye out for fake landlords.
Right now, from what I see, they sound like somebody's problem.
Right now you could clearly turn them down on credit. I would have to know more about his 14 bad accounts. ? Bad checks? ?tickets? ?credit cards?
I go over those credit reports like a detective So that I can catagorize the risks to watch for/ask about.
Lastly, you must remember that how you process applicants should be fairly consistent, so you are setting up your future process of approval based on what you do with this couple.
I hope you are still showing and taking calls.
I agree with edmeyer, you should contact two previous landlords. With someones credit history, You may see some delinquencies. If the person has a long history past, and present of delinquencies then you should be wary of inviting them to live in your property.
I would stay away from them. Bottom line: he's got more bad credit than good and if his wages are being garnished for child support, that means that he not only didn't care to pay his bills, he also didn't care enough about his kids to send the court ordered support.
I haven sympathy as much as the next person, but this is a business and not a shelter.
I highly recommend you read the book "Landlording: A Handy Manual for Scrupulous Landlords and Landladies Who Do It Themselves" by Leigh Robinson
It's a fun and easy read that gives you some good pointers.