Re: Is this considered a verbal agreement - Landlord Forum thread 321927

Re: Is this considered a verbal agreement by Bill on July 28, 2014 @11:25

You have a larger problem than the verbal agreement. First, you are renting to a friend. Eventually, friends and coworkers will stop paying rent and you will have to evict them. Somehow, friends, relatives and coworkers feel they are exempt from on time, in full rent payments. And, they will become angry with you because you expect it.

Second, you will acquire a squatter tenant in the basement where it is not legal for him to live. This will certainly come to haunt you when you evict them all. Will the basement squatter fill out an application and have to qualify too? Does he have a criminal record and bad credit? Regardless, he will be in your basement if you rent to your friend. Probably his girlfriend will come with him. Maybe her kids too.

By all means, explain that everyone must have good credit and pass a criminal background check. The level of acceptable credit is whatever you say it is. Same for the criminal record. Drunks and dope heads do not pay rent very well.

You can back out of everything by saying that you have thought it over and decided it is a bad idea to rent to friends. Stick with it and repeat it as often as necessary for them to get the message they are not moving in. If these applicants have a clean credit and criminal record, they will be able to rent elsewhere.

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Re: Is this considered a verbal agreement by LEE on July 28, 2014 @16:42	[ Reply ]

Thanks for your advice. No friends, no family is a good rule. My dad gets anxious to rent and doesnt follow the rules which is what happened with this last tenant. We will be checking credit/backgrounds on everyone.