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...the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Nothing precludes asking for and verifying prior rental histories, credit, criminal background and employment so long as the same standards are applied to all renters..
I wouldn`t waste their money running a credit check on a section 8 applicant. Their credit score will be poor and if you later tell them they won`t be accepted you run the risk of them getting upset.
After all they have to spend $30 per adult for the credit check.
I wouldn`t waste their money running a credit check on a section 8 applicant. Their credit score will be poor and if you later tell them they won`t be accepted you run the risk of them getting upset.
After all they have to spend $30 per adult for the credit check.
We always run credit checks... a person can have no credit or little credit.
I'm not looking for a score... I look for charge offs and collections.
One building I managed was mostly seniors with Section 8... it was small property and I don't think there was a single collection or charge off in the group...
It's a misnomer that people of modest means have to have bad credit...
I have a very simple criteria... no bad credit... which is different than good credit, income of 3 times the rent which can or could be offset by Section 8 or a parent co-signer and references...
Section 8 has changed... the property owner no longer receives any assistance for tenant caused damages... totally between the Voucher Holder and Property Owner... this single policy change is why I stopped accepting new Subsidized tenants...
Also the transition was horrible for property owners... HUD said it would no longer cover up to two months rent leaving owners with $50 or $100 security deposits where it should have been $1200 to $1800.
As for getting paid... also not quite the reality.
Housing has the option of canceling the Voucher which leaves the Landlord with a tenant that doesn't have the means to pay the rent.
Somewhat related... I had a tenant that had applied to move to another jurisdiction... she was able to get 3 extensions and eventually moved... I did my required pre-move walk though and noted a few minor items...
Tenant calls and we meet to pick up the keys... and we discuss the cost to replace on hollow core door and one crack window pane... all is good... within three weeks I refund the balance due on her security deposit.
Two months later I receive a demand letter from Housing for over payment of 6 weeks rent... her unit in another city was approved 6 weeks prior to her giving me the keys!!!
HUD threatened legal action and I had no choice to give back the rent for that period or they would simply take it from another unit I manage in the program.
As a Landlord... there is no way for me to know if the tenant has another rental in another city and my Housing Authority does not know either for several weeks...
Collections had no success collecting the $900 owed and the kicker is had I known... I could have kept the $600 security deposit balance instead of refunding... California law allows 3 weeks for an accounting or refund.
One last minor point... I have had Section 8 tenants that pay nothing... Section 8 has paid 100% of the rent because the family was under-housed when the new baby was born...
I have also had a Section 8 tenant pay 99% of the rent... the last one was $6 from Housing and $1194 from tenant...
You raise a good point. State, county and municipal laws as it relates to renters / deposits varies throughout the U.S.
That you got burnt when your former tenant had another rental lined up in a different area is whacked. This is a result of HUD delegating control to local governments. I am sorry for your misfortune.
I am not a fan of Section 8. I do know that experiences vary.
We always run credit checks... a person can have no credit or little credit.
I'm not looking for a score... I look for charge offs and collections.
One building I managed was mostly seniors with Section 8... it was small property and I don't think there was a single collection or charge off in the group...
It's a misnomer that people of modest means have to have bad credit...
I have a very simple criteria... no bad credit... which is different than good credit, income of 3 times the rent which can or could be offset by Section 8 or a parent co-signer and references...
Just curious. Do you require the applicant to pay an application fee or is the check your cost of doing business?
You raise a good point. State, county and municipal laws as it relates to renters / deposits varies throughout the U.S.
That you got burnt when your former tenant had another rental lined up in a different area is whacked. This is a result of HUD delegating control to local governments. I am sorry for your misfortune.
I am not a fan of Section 8. I do know that experiences vary.
Thirty years ago the program was quite different and the goal of providing assistance to families of modest means in noble...
Problem is the program today bears little resemblance to the original where the Housing Authority even performed evictions and did maintenance...
The entire burden has been shifted to the Landlord with plenty of strings attached... and in some cases it's all for a $10 or $50 monthly housing payment...
I've had successes... families that do well and leave the program... complete school and get good jobs... sadly... I know too many families where Section 8 is a way of life with as many as 4 generations on assistance...
I had a young women with two children in a two bedroom home... she honest to God had another child so she could get a 3 bedroom certificate...
We always run credit checks... a person can have no credit or little credit.
I'm not looking for a score... I look for charge offs and collections.
One building I managed was mostly seniors with Section 8... it was small property and I don't think there was a single collection or charge off in the group...
It's a misnomer that people of modest means have to have bad credit...
I have a very simple criteria... no bad credit... which is different than good credit, income of 3 times the rent which can or could be offset by Section 8 or a parent co-signer and references...
Yes, there are exceptions. I`ve got a young couple who had trouble paying off their college loans but they brought other things to the table. (letter of reference landlord and a stable work history)
I`ve been renting out properties for the past 15 years and my experiences has been if a person has a poor credit score there`s going to be problems with the rent.
Now if said applicant/poor credit score has a very good work history and stable income along with a plausible explanation as to why past bills weren`t paid/defaulted on a loan I might listen.
However, I usually have enough quality applicants that I don`t have to take chances on those with a story.
Whenever I start hearing a story about why this or that happened I tend to keep looking.
I know a few that do. The parents sign the lease not the students.
That seems to do wonders for "responsibility".
FWIW a criminal background check can only be done on the adult, not any of the minor children.
Many students use proceeds from certain student loans to cover their housing expenses.
Some students qualify for Section 8 vouchers.
Not all student housing involves parentental co- signers.
Some parents buy condos in college towns as investments. Once their kids leave, they become absentee owners.
Students often informally sublet to other students. Absentee owners think they are renting to two students Reality can be that 10 kids are living in the unit. The wear and tear and filth can be jaw dropping.
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