Paying full lease up front to avoid income requirements? (flocking, rental, security deposit)

[bouncethelight]

I just want 2 rent, you're essentially self-employed, so they'll want to see your last two years of tax returns.

[lawmom]

Did you read the very first response to this thread? There are two legitimate answers right there.

[I just want 2 rent]

I agree with you being "self-employed". However, I was asked for last years tax return which to me is irrelevant. How about you look at my check stubs and bank statement. Those don't lie about income.

[I just want 2 rent]

LAWMOM

I read those things but they are hypothetical. If there legitimate then where can I find that in a handbook?

LAWMOM: If you owned a property and someone offered to pay you $20,000 upfront would you seriously deny it? Giving that the background check was cleared of no violence or any other suspicious things.

Also, why would you end up in court? Unless YOU tried to evict them for your own reasons, noise complaints...etc. Or they wanted to move and wanted their monies back, which if in court they signed the contract agreeing to pay upfront, its in your favor.

[STT Resident]

Originally Posted by I just want 2 rent

I agree with you being "self-employed". However, I was asked for last years tax return which to me is irrelevant. How about you look at my check stubs and bank statement. Those don't lie about income.

Originally Posted by I just want 2 rent

LAWMOM

I read those things but they are hypothetical. If there legitimate then where can I find that in a handbook?

LAWMOM: If you owned a property and someone offered to pay you $20,000 upfront would you seriously deny it? Giving that the background check was cleared of no violence or any other suspicious things.

Also, why would you end up in court? Unless YOU tried to evict them for your own reasons, noise complaints...etc. Or they wanted to move and wanted their monies back, which if in court they signed the contract agreeing to pay upfront, its in your favor.

I'm not sure why you persist in arguing when you've been given some excellent and perfectly logical responses to your questions. I'm a former LL and twice over several years was offered six months and a year's rent upfront and refused. I always asked for and received first, last and one month's security deposit. If for whatever reason the tenancy were to be ended before the term was up I had no interest in going through all the hassle of returning a whole bunch of money.

I guess all you can do is to make your approach when you find a place you're interested in and see what that particular LL says. Good luck.

[I just want 2 rent]

I'm just asking questions and this is texting, so its sometimes hard to understand the tone of the individual.


What is your reasoning to denying them their 6 or 12mo lease if they were paying upfront?


It seems as if its up to the LL on his or her likings of the individual(s).

[cokatie]

All I can say on the subject is that I had a great rental a good few years ago. I went through a broker and they did the normal background checks which I passed and moved in after paying the standard rates. After I was in the apartment for about 3 months and the landlord was well aware that I travelled a great deal internationally for my banking job, I presented him with a check for my rent for the next 6 months. I had the savings, so it was no problem for me. I had already proven to be a good tenant. What I did admit to him that with all my travel, time seemed to fly for me and I also never knew where I was going to be at the end of any given month. Also, if he would be good enough to remind me when the 6 months was used up, I would then write another check. So for us it worked. I also tend to pay my cable bills, and now my HOA fees months in advance. I really am bad at checking the mail and prefer to take one big hit financially and get everything paid off at once for a good few months.

I think the key here is that you first need to establish a relationship with your landlord. In my case, he was well aware that I was in a top 5 US bank. That I was a responsible, professional, if not harried person. And he got some good tips on the market from me! He was happy to take the money since he was well aware it was not coming from, shall we say, ill-gotten gains. It's all about relationships and building trust.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by I just want 2 rent

What difference does it make if I want to pay upfront? LL have their money which is the MAIN concern. OR are there other underlying issues?.....I'm confused.

The underlying issue is experience. Most people who want to pay a full term up front have issues, and LLs don't want to deal with them. Don't like it? Rent from someone else.

In fact, you know who loves being paid in advance? Long-term / extended stay hotels. You can book suites at just about any price point, have daily housekeeping service, and they will generally be thrilled for your business. They accept the risk of long-term paid-in-advance renters because they have a pretty strong corporate legal team and deep pockets to deal with any "issues".

But the simple, short answer to your question is "because they don't want to".

[PacificFlights]

Originally Posted by I just want 2 rent

QUESTIONS????
What difference does it make if I want to pay upfront? LL have their money which is the MAIN concern. OR are there other underlying issues?.....I'm confused.

There are two main reasons why a LL won;t do this. One is they don;t want to do it and the second is all the legal rules surrounding it.
Some states collecting anything beyond the first, last, security or other deposits is optional but can be recinded by the renter even if they have a signed contract. So yuo give 6 months paid in full and one month later you decide you wantt he rest back. In some states the LL has to refund anthing beyond what state law allowes and they have to do ti even if there is a signed contract saying otherwise. A lease or agreement does not trump state laws.

Another reason is that advance payment can be seen as security deposits and the LL will have to pay interest on any advance payment if its covered by state laws.

If they accept advance payment from you, they could set themself up to having to explain why they don;t accept from others.

Most times a PMC will set a standard to rent. The standard was developed based on best practices, experiences and after getting burned in the past. If a person does not meet the requirments, they don;t meet it and up front payments are sometimes viewed as bribe to get around the requirements. Even people in your situation will most likely pass the requirments, so upfront offering may send up red flags.

To me, if they don't meet the requirments, even if they are willing to pay in advance, they don't get the place because those are my standards and they fail to meet it. Maybe an extended or vacation rental is the option your looking for.

[jamies]

Originally Posted by I just want 2 rent

Why do people own apartment complexes???

I work in porn...

WHO DOES LIKE MONEY UPFRONT? COME ON PEOPLE!

OK, OK, taken out of context...

Why do people own apartments?

Because I'm too old to make it in porn...

Pacific Flights answer is pretty good. If you are just talking 3-4 months you probably could find larger corporate type complexes like ArchStone that would accept you at a higher rate, IF your credit is decent, or if you can charge your bill to a credit card.

Most private LL's like myself want long term no-headache tenants. My goal is to never have a tenant leave, so I'd rather not bother with a 3-4 month rental, other than my summer beach rental where we get a premium that makes it worthwhile.