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Prospective Tenant Decision? - Landlord Forum thread 323196

Prospective Tenant Decision? by Anonymous on August 22, 2014 @12:36

                              
I have a couple interested in my SFH. They are apparently not married.

One has an acceptable FICO score, the other does not.
One makes gross income of 3.5X rent. The other makes 2.5X
They would be increasing their monthly rent expense by 18% over their monthly rent $$ today.
Their lease is not up until 10/31/2014.
Their dog is 10 pounds over the published limit

I realize that for any reason that one leaves I could be stuck with the unqualified tenant.

The apartment complex where they are now will probably only state that they would rent to them again if they are qualified, or not.

Possible solutions?
Double the required SD (My state has no restrictions)
Holding Fee doubled
First, last and double the SD.
Increased pet fee

This is past the peak rental season and most of the prospects have been duds.

Should I move forward with these people or not bother?

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Re: Prospective Tenant Decision? by Bill on August 22, 2014 @13:49 [ Reply ]
If you have better applicants then you may want to consider them.

If you want to move forward with these applicants, get a larger deposit and make the lease month to month. If you can, get the first and last too.
Re: Prospective Tenant Decision? by Anonymous on August 22, 2014 @13:50 [ Reply ]
If garnishment is allowed in your state, it doesn't matter whether both qualify individually. If they are both listed on the annual lease, it won't matter who actually lives there or whether one leaves, they will still both be 100% responsible for the rent so you can collect it from whomever has a job and the means to pay.

Once the lease expires, if one leaves s/he will have to terminate the lease and return the rental vacant (include that as a clause in your lease -- neither party terminates their obligation under the lease individually and termination means a proper 30-day notice and all occupants vacate the rental). They are jointly on the lease and must stay or go as a single unit.
Re: Prospective Tenant Decision? by Anonymous on August 22, 2014 @15:17 [ Reply ]
Here's what I read: you have prospective tenants who earn 6x the monthly rent as a household.

I would consider them as a unit, not as people who must qualify by themselves. Could it turn out that one moves out? Yeah, but any tenant could lose their job at any time just as easily.

That said, if the dog is a bit over the limit then raising the fee a bit would be reasonable.
Re: Prospective Tenant Decision? by Garry (Iowa) on August 22, 2014 @16:30 [ Reply ]
First, will the home be vacant starting Sept.1 ? If so, are you willing to accept a vacant home with no income for 2 months, until they would move in on Nov 1 ? (assuming you accepted them, of course ) Income wise, using both incomes, they seem overly qualified, for your rental. Go ahead and check out the rest of their backgrounds now, and keep showing the place and getting other apps. Also remember, you can ASK for any amounts of monies you want to, (up to your state law maxes,) to protect you from loss of rents, damages, etc. But that doesn't mean a prospective tenant will be willing to pay it. They will just move on to a more lenient LL.
Re: Prospective Tenant Decision? by Anonymous on August 22, 2014 @17:16 [ Reply ]
Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I gathered from this is that their lease isn't up until October 31, but are looking for a place now. If they intend to break their current lease, you can't expect that they'll obey any lease that you enter into them with. Just food for thought.
Re: Prospective Tenant Decision? by Anonymous on August 22, 2014 @19:35 [ Reply ]
Sounds perfect to me.

What the hell is the difference in 10 pounds on a dog?

Tell them if they want to hold the place, they have to put a non-refundable deposit equal to one months rent that is then converted to security deposit on occupancy.
Re: Prospective Tenant Decision? by Garry (Iowa) on August 22, 2014 @22:46 [ Reply ]
Most people are not willing to put out a large amount of money if the words "non-refundable " are attached to it. If you get their app, run it ,and if you accept them, then ask if they would be willing to start a lease on Oct.1 . If they say yes, get their security deposit now, sign a lease, and get rent for Oct. on Oct. 1 Give them keys on Oct. 1, and be sure they have the utils in their name on Oct. 1---BEFORE you give them the keys. The point is, why should you care if they have to pay rent for 2 places for Oct. , as long as they agree to it, and you get your money. Tell them that by doing it this way, they will have a full 30 days to move, instead of just 1 or 2 days at the end of the month. If this happens, it could be a win-win for both parties.
Re: Prospective Tenant Decision? by Anonymous on August 23, 2014 @01:43 [ Reply ]
I would keep looking. Two months is too long to wait. You may have to do a little bit more work with showing the place and keeping it advertised, but two months rent is quite a bit of money. Tell them to call you in another month and you can let them know if you still have it vacant.

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