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It's not discrimination if your rental application or "standard" criteria is a NO FELONY HISTORY and GOOD CREDIT requirement.
Not saying you should or should not rent to him.
Personally, I think that if you want to be a Good Samaritan and second chance giver be certain that your decision only puts you at risk. If the real dilemma is your finances then separate your desperation from the equation and decide based upon your normal protocol for renting. Why do you even do a background check to begin with? What are you looking for and where do you draw the line? Be clear with these parameters and consistent in your dealings with others.
Some leases even specify that felony convictions during occupancy are cause for an eviction.
I am all for second chances by the way yet I am well aware of the fact that our current criminal justice system is not always successful at rehabilitation and that even when individuals do not repeat the same rime they occasionally partake in new ones. Does this inidividual not have a single relative or friend who would feel more comfortable taking a chance on him?
Last edited by UNITYinternational; 02-14-2014 at 04:36 PM..
How will he ever have the chance to stand on his own two feet as an upstanding citizen if everyone kicks him back down? What is on paper may actually have an explanation or rehabilitation. So, yes I would rent to him after an open discussion w him.
How will he ever have the chance to stand on his own two feet as an upstanding citizen if everyone kicks him back down? What is on paper may actually have an explanation or rehabilitation. So, yes I would rent to him after an open discussion w him.
Are you familiar with tenant laws in NYC? This apartment is in NYC and it's very difficult to evict if you need to. It's generous to want to give him a hand with his re-entry to society, but if I were a small, first-time landlord in NYC, there is NO WAY I would take this risk. All you have to do is look through the threads on this board to read stories of new, small NYC landlords who have gotten stuck with some deadbeat tenant who they can't get rid of without losing significant amounts of time and money.
As another poster said, it's much less risky to give someone like this a job, because if they don't perform or otherwise screw up, you can just let them go. Not so with a tenant.
OK, I dug deeper, he killed someone in a fight, did 30 years in jail, and it was murder 2 not 1,I have a two unit spot upstairs, both self contained, I did the background check because I'm a complete newbie at this business and NY being a tenant state I was worried about getting a bad tenant,it was a suggestion from a forum here actually that gave me the idea to do a credit check, but I saw this bundle deal and went for it, I was taken aback when I saw the info, which is why I came back to the board to see if I was over reacting,(I mean , which landlord doesn't have convicted felon tenants :-) but the guy did his time , got out of jail, and is trying to be righteous, the lack of credit was going to be my deal breaker, I looked at some of the responses, they made logical points , so I called him to say the deal was off, but he was persuasive, he has got someone to be a guarantor and I'm going for a month to month lease, I spoke to his parole officer, someone will be checking in on him regularly and as she pointed out, if it doesn't work out, it's a month to month lease and I'm going to ask for 1st , last and deposit, he has agreed to direct deposit into a bank account so I'm hoping it will work out, and yeah, the place is def not the Ritz, but for what it's worth it's mine and the banks, so I need to start generating income asap. Thanks for the advice guys, if it doesn't work out and there's something on the news about a dead landlord point the cops to the board LOL
OK, I dug deeper, he killed someone in a fight, did 30 years in jail, and it was murder 2 not 1,I have a two unit spot upstairs, both self contained, I did the background check because I'm a complete newbie at this business and NY being a tenant state I was worried about getting a bad tenant,it was a suggestion from a forum here actually that gave me the idea to do a credit check, but I saw this bundle deal and went for it, I was taken aback when I saw the info, which is why I came back to the board to see if I was over reacting,(I mean , which landlord doesn't have convicted felon tenants :-) but the guy did his time , got out of jail, and is trying to be righteous, the lack of credit was going to be my deal breaker, I looked at some of the responses, they made logical points , so I called him to say the deal was off, but he was persuasive, he has got someone to be a guarantor and I'm going for a month to month lease, I spoke to his parole officer, someone will be checking in on him regularly and as she pointed out, if it doesn't work out, it's a month to month lease and I'm going to ask for 1st , last and deposit, he has agreed to direct deposit into a bank account so I'm hoping it will work out, and yeah, the place is def not the Ritz, but for what it's worth it's mine and the banks, so I need to start generating income asap. Thanks for the advice guys, if it doesn't work out and there's something on the news about a dead landlord point the cops to the board LOL
Um that would be me and all the other landlords that posted to this thread. BTW I have a feeling that this will be you in a couple of months Do yourself a favor take a pass on this dude there are plenty of other NYers out there looking for an apartment.
Um that would be me and all the other landlords that posted to this thread. BTW I have a feeling that this will be you in a couple of months Do yourself a favor take a pass on this dude there are plenty of other NYers out there looking for an apartment.
Just because someone wasn't caught and convicted does not mean they're not criminals.
Kinda funny seeing landlords think they really know their tenants.
You know zero about them..you just know what you're shown.
Just because someone wasn't caught and convicted does not mean they're not criminals.
Kinda funny seeing landlords think they really know their tenants.
You know zero about them..you just know what you're shown.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beejay24/7
I did a background check on a prospective tenant, he had no credit history and it turned out that he had been convicted of murder, his apartment is going to be above my office, I know some people would say he's done his time but I'm worried about the legal liability if he does something to a co tenant , or what happens if he decides he doesn't want to pay rent ? he has no credit history presumably because he spent a lot of time in jail, OTOH , I do feel bad for him and I know he needs to leave his current place very soon, I more or less promised to let him have the place before I found out about this murder 1 conviction, and I really need the money. Would you give him a chance ?
I did a background check on a prospective tenant, he had no credit history and it turned out that he had been convicted of murder, his apartment is going to be above my office, I know some people would say he's done his time but I'm worried about the legal liability if he does something to a co tenant , or what happens if he decides he doesn't want to pay rent ? he has no credit history presumably because he spent a lot of time in jail, OTOH , I do feel bad for him and I know he needs to leave his current place very soon, I more or less promised to let him have the place before I found out about this murder 1 conviction, and I really need the money. Would you give him a chance ?
Most murders are personal, meaning they would not just murder anyone. Most likely he'll be fine and you may have given him a chance others would not.
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Do yourself a favor take a pass on this dude there are plenty of other NYers out there looking for an apartment.
