first come first serve? - Landlord Forum thread

first come first serve? by Anna Mouse on June 9, 2012 @15:55

I read on the forum that you need to take the applicant who applied first. What if there is a high demand for the property and you are setting up all showings on the same day. My intent was to choose the most qualified tenant. Please note that I am only allowing those to view and see the property who say they meet my criteria.

FTR I would only cash the app fee check for those I truely ran a credit check on. To do otherwise would be a scam.

If I was blessed to have several applications turned in on the same day would it be okay to choose an applicant without a pet over the one with? Even if 2 applicants applied with pets and the 3rd applied without?

If they both had pets and one made more money would processing the application that had a greater income first be okay?(what if the person with a pet applies first)

What if I processed an application and found their debt to income ratio poor. In that case someone making a bit less with a better debt to income ratio would be a better choice. If this were to happen I would refund the first persons fee for fairness and to avoid hard feelings.

Here is why I am confused. I just reread the FH Act and I can find no reference to first in line. Can someone please post where this is, or if it is state specific law?

I thought the ideal goal would be to set up many showings on the same day so you can get the person making the most money with the best credit score. That person would clearly not be surrounded by a great deal of debt as it does not matter how much you make if you have spent more than what you can afford.

Another reason I see a problem with this is all tenative applicants have inquired in advance. They want the proeprty, so they say, and are waiting for it to empty so they can come view. If the number of prospective tenants continues to grow I will be forced to show 2 days. Seems that all who have contacted me ahead of time should get a fair shot regardless of what day I am able to schedule their showing.

Another fact or part of my plan that I would like to add is that I will be emailing applications to all people that are invited to view the property. Clearly those who bring an application and hand it in on that day are ahead of those who decide to wait. I am having issue with the fact that one person may view at 10AM and the next at 1pm the same day. I do not like to have a stampede therefore instead of an open house I will schedule showings every 30 minutes. Again as the amount of people wishing to view increases I will be forced to double up the appointments or open up another day.

Landlords whom I respect like Brian, OKLL, A.T.S.F, KatieKate, (plus a few I Forgot to mention) and even Jake, let me have it and please help me learn. I would even be honored to be yelled at or corrected by the above.

All Trolls need not reply, that means you Mr. Dan.

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Re: first come first serve? by outabout (CO) on June 9, 2012 @17:00	[ Reply ]

Just my 2 cents: I am in the same boat of screening for tenants, have read the fair housing law quite a bit. I am sure you know that SFH may be exempted from FH. But you may also want to pay attention to your state law. In CO, the state FH law will only exempt for "family status", other categories are not exempted. As long as you are exempted, in my opinions, you can pick and choose the best tenant whichever way you want, first come first serve doesn't apply. But returning application fee to those you checked but didn't pick is a good idea. If you are not exempted from FH, it may be trickier, I don't know enough to comment on.

Re: first come first serve?

Re: first come first serve? by Bryan (Ia) on June 9, 2012 @17:10	[ Reply ]

I find no reason not accept the most qualified. As long as you have a written set of minimum qualifications. If you have a preference for no pets over pets, then there is nothing discriminatory for finding that prospect more qualified than another, even if you do accept pets. Eric (Mn) has even shared a point system that he uses as part of his qualification process. Using a point system, by nature, allows you to select the most qualified prospect, not the first one that meets your minimums. Think of this a starting point. Points ____ 10. Good rental history (at least 2 of 3 of the following). ___ a) 5 years verified (need names and telephone # of all references) ___ b) 2 years at current residence (stability) ___ c) at least 2 good independent rental references (multiple verification) -3 pts for each, 1 point bonus for all three ____ 9. Neat and complete application. -subtract 2 pts for each incomplete or unclear item ____ 8. Good Credit (Credit paid on time, no judgements, bankruptcy, UD's). -subtract 2 pts for each negative item, add 2 pts for each positive item no items, no pts ____ 7. Income 3X rent. -all or nothing ____ 6. Currently live or have family or work, etc. in the area (have a reason to live at this location). -all or nothing ____ 5. Working current job or attending school more than two years. -all or nothing ____ 4. All references checked out (primarily landlord and work). -all or nothing ____ 3. All occupants viewed apartment, were at interview (including children). -all or nothing ____ 2. All income verifiable (with telephone #'s and names provided). -all or nothing ____ 1. Working or going to school. -all or nothing SCORE:_________________ 55 possible pts: Accept if > 28 Reject if < 28

Re: first come first serve?

Re: first come first serve? by Jack Klein (NY) on June 9, 2012 @19:37	[ Reply ]

No offense Anna, but I stopped reading at the point you said, "that you need to take the applicant who applied first." What if a deadbeat with bad credit applies first? That is completely crazy and defeats the whole point of The Landlord Protection Agency and screening. I tell all applicants that it is NOT first come first served. It is BEST QUALIFIED gets accepted.

Re: first come first serve?

Re: first come first serve? by Eric (MN) on June 9, 2012 @23:44	[ Reply ]

Here is MN law, but it makes sense anyway. The landlord must use a clear and consistent screening process for all applicants. Landlords much provide the criteria in written form upon which they will screen applications, prior to accepting and screening fee. It is thought that if they read the criteria and see something that will disqualify them, they may not then chose to pay the fee and apply. You must process applicants in sequential order as you cash their check or take their money. You may NOT take all the applicants money, process all of them and then compare the applicants choosing the best one (and keeping all the money). If the tenant is reject for any reason other than what was specified on the written screening criteria form, the landlord must return the application fee. http://www.minnesotainvestmentrealestate.com/tenants/summary-of-new-tenants-bill-of-rights/

Re: first come first serve?

Re: first come first serve? by NY-LL on June 10, 2012 @01:33	[ Reply ]

The U.S. Fair Housing Act (FHA) is intended to prevent discrimination against equally qualified prospective applicants with the same or similar rental qualifications. The �first come, first served� issue is a falsehood designed by tenants (and unknowledgeable landlords) to create legal ramifications where none exist. The landlord is legally entitled to receive as many qualified applicants within their specified time limit (whether one week or one month). Amongst the interested prospective tenants, the landlord is legally within their right to choose the best qualified prospective tenant within the completed applicant pool, regardless of whether the application was delivered complete on the 1st of the month or the 31st of the month. The date of receipt of the qualified rental application is only significant if the landlord discriminates against equally qualified prospective tenants. Tenant are rarely, if ever, equally qualified as some have already mentioned. (Landlord should choose the best qualified applicant that meets the criteria.) If equally qualified on balance, then choose the prospective with the most acceptable tenant with long-term lease agreement terms (two or more years rather than a one year or month-to-month).

Re: first come first serve?

That is me Anna Mouse above LOL no msg.

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Re: first come first serve? by Anna Mouse on June 10, 2012 @14:52	[ Reply ]

What I found in Colorado law is that is most important to treat everyone the same. That means you do not ask nor do you use the following as screening. Race or Color, national Origin, Religion, Sex, Familial Status or handicap / Disability (more). The above mentioned should NOT be used in no way to determine if a tenant is qualified. What you should use is Income, credit score, back ground (this covers things like crime, UD's, bankruptcy, rental history ect.) Also how they followed your process. As long as you stay very very far away from asking anything that would fall into the category of discriminating then you are going to be okay. Be fair, treat every one the same. In doing this if someone tries to say you discriminated because they fell into one of the following protected groups then you will be fine.

Re: first come first serve? by MrDan on June 10, 2012 @16:36	[ Reply ]

Of course Landlords/Managers must select tenants who meet the landlords written criteria, but they must carefully follow the law and various acts and local ordinances. The FHA does not provide any guidelines on how to screen tenants. The majority of Professional Landlords/Managers/Property Owners use the 'First Come, First Served' to prevent any illustion of discrimination. If a landlord is in the position of having a number of qualified applicants, but only one vacancy, most would in such a case would take the most qualified canidate or go by their instinct on who would be best. These options leave open charges of discrimination. There are no firm rules on tenant selection, as long as the landlord does not discriminate, but even an unproved charge can be very expensive. The correct procedure is always be sure you take the "First Qualified Applicant", and that you use the same criteria for all of them. You also have to beaware of 'Disparate Treatment' when selecting applicants. It occurs when a landlord treats applicants differently based on one of the prohibited bases. It can range from overt discrimination to more subtle disparties in treatment. It does not require any showing that the treatment was motivated by prejudice or a conscious intention to discriminate against a person, beyond the differance in treatment itself. It is considered by the courts to be intentional discrimination because no credible nondiscrimintory reason explains the difference in treatment. As to Anna's problem, if that is the only property you own that you rent, your might meet some of the exemptions from the FHA requirements. SEC. 800[42 U.S.C.3601] Sec 803 (b) If not, then you should give great thought to doing "First Come/ First Served". Picking amoung several applications to chose the best one is not illegal in most states, but has the greatest chance of someone filing a Discrimintaion complaint against you. I have work as an advocate to help landlords prepair the paper work that is often requested, let it be said, you have no idea of what they request going back for years and what they require for years to come, even if you prevail.

Re: SFH rentals

Re: What Housing Is Covered? by NY-LL on June 11, 2012 @17:35	[ Reply ]

What Housing Is Covered? The Fair Housing Act covers most housing. In some circumstances, the Act exempts owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units, single-family housing sold or rented without the use of a broker, and housing operated by organizations and private clubs that limit occupancy to members.

Re: What Housing Is Covered?