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What week hasn't gone by where you haven't heard news of some massive data breach?
Your rental applicants, likewise, are putting it all on the line. Credit card numbers, driver's licenses, bank accounts — date of birth and social security number! In the course of a rental home search this sensitive information may land in the computers, file cabinets, offices and dumpsters of half a dozen or more property managers, real estate agents and landlords' offices! There are no laws stating how unwanted rental applications are disposed of — or when — no consumer protection law mandating that you offer to return such material upon request, and no telling what will happen to sensitive consumer information if your home, office or trash dumpster becomes the target of thieves.
Failure to convey the status of a rental application creates a void in your applicants' knowledge. Is it in the office waste basket waiting to be fished out by a visitor or an employee you fired this week? Did you or did you not run a background and credit check?
Even if identity theft isn't high on your list of concerns, here's what ought to be: Failure to follow up on an application deprives the applicant of an educational opportunity. As that applicant goes place to place they are not only incurring credit-damaging inquiries but in all likelihood undergoing the process several times over at their own expense! If you can spot something on their report that you suspect would disqualify them from most rental opportunities, don't treat it like a state secret!
If an applicant has paid for the cost of the credit check and you got as far as to run it in the first place, don't be cagey. Be honest and tell the applicant who inquires that with better credit, another year in their current job, more savings in the bank or less debt they can improve the odds. Maybe you think this is already self-evident but oftentimes it is not easy for a prospective tenant to determine how they landed on the cutting room floor.
For one, it's difficult to be self-objective. Maybe your applicant has been at his/her current job for less than a year but they think it won't matter — and yet it does matter to you because it doesn't demonstrate the employment stability you seek. Maybe your applicant has excellent credit and the ability to pay rent but their debt ratio is precariously high. Maybe they have no debt at all but a six-year-old bankruptcy that they've put behind them but to you, it might as well have been last year! Perhaps they don't have a dog or a cat but they have a parakeet or a hamster — are parakeets and hamsters deal breakers? If there are any clear-cut reasons an applicant will fall out of favor, it's better to say as much in the rental listing so that less desirable applicants don't waste your time — or their own.
Here's another gray area: Some households, for cultural or religious reasons, value a traditional stay-at-home spouse. Others will have a self-employed spouse, a retired spouse or even a disabled spouse. If you don't know the reason why one person is covering the rent and the other adult can't or won't must that be a factor? It's a gray area because if you don't have a clue that one of your prospective tenants is disabled or retired you might be inclined to think that the "young professionals" — translation: a dual-income couple — are the safer bet. However, you have to realize that within the category of "unemployed" may exist a protected class — people for whom health or even religious reasons only have one income earner in the home.
If you aren't sure whether the reason why you have disqualified an applicant is legitimate, and unwilling to go on the record even for the benefit of those who sincerely want to learn from their rental search, consult an attorney. There are websites where the advice of an attorney, veterinarian, medical doctor or just about any other professional can be obtained at low cost. Look such resources up and use them accordingly. Then be willing to stand behind your decision with confidence. After the time and money your applicant has put into the process — not to mention the sincere hope of living in your community — you owe those who care to follow up the courtesy of a response.
Chances are, you owe your livelihood — if not your mortgage check — to the people who want to call your home or property their home. Too many people wear "Too Important" or "Too Busy" like a badge of honor. In polite company, however, there's only one term for it: bad manners.
Even if your applicant fails to make the cut, don't forget that he/she has friends, colleagues, family and peers with whom she/he interacts. As such, there is NO good reason to leave a bad impression on anyone. One approach is to ask your applicant up front, at the time he/she requests the application, whether he/she wishes to be notified one way or the other. Alternately, you might say "If you are selected, you will hear back from me on the first of the month." If your applicant is the type that would rather take a hint, they'll nod agreeably and leave it at that. If he/she is new to the area or out on the market for the first time in decades thanks to a prior long-term situation in which he/she lived, your prospective applicant may use this opportunity to ask you to let them know what the outcome is. If follow-up is what the applicant(s) want, be a true professional and respect that.
In this age of Facebook, Yelp and all things social media, word gets around. If you have a legitimate reason for rejecting an applicant, your applicant will understand. A vague answer in response to a direct question, on the other hand, will come off as if you don't have enough understanding within your profession to know whether or not you were within your legal rights — or worse it may imply you have knowingly engaged in some form of housing discrimination. If that is NOT the case, don't dodge follow-up questions. It's important to be up front, professional and friendly on both sides of a business transaction. You're in the business of providing services to people — arguably the most critical service there is: housing. Don't do less for your applicant than you would want for yourself in the same situation.
What week hasn't gone by where you haven't heard news of some massive data breach?
Your rental applicants, likewise, are putting it all on the line. Credit card numbers, driver's licenses, bank accounts — date of birth and social security number! In the course of a rental home search this sensitive information may land in the computers, file cabinets, offices and dumpsters of half a dozen or more property managers, real estate agents and landlords' offices! There are no laws stating how unwanted rental applications are disposed of — or when — no consumer protection law mandating that you offer to return such material upon request, and no telling what will happen to sensitive consumer information if your home, office or trash dumpster becomes the target of thieves.
Failure to convey the status of a rental application creates a void in your applicants' knowledge. Is it in the office waste basket waiting to be fished out by a visitor or an employee you fired this week? Did you or did you not run a background and credit check?
Even if identity theft isn't high on your list of concerns, here's what ought to be: Failure to follow up on an application deprives the applicant of an educational opportunity. As that applicant goes place to place they are not only incurring credit-damaging inquiries but in all likelihood undergoing the process several times over at their own expense! If you can spot something on their report that you suspect would disqualify them from most rental opportunities, don't treat it like a state secret!
If an applicant has paid for the cost of the credit check and you got as far as to run it in the first place, don't be cagey. Be honest and tell the applicant who inquires that with better credit, another year in their current job, more savings in the bank or less debt they can improve the odds. Maybe you think this is already self-evident but oftentimes it is not easy for a prospective tenant to determine how they landed on the cutting room floor.
For one, it's difficult to be self-objective. Maybe your applicant has been at his/her current job for less than a year but they think it won't matter — and yet it does matter to you because it doesn't demonstrate the employment stability you seek. Maybe your applicant has excellent credit and the ability to pay rent but their debt ratio is precariously high. Maybe they have no debt at all but a six-year-old bankruptcy that they've put behind them but to you, it might as well have been last year! Perhaps they don't have a dog or a cat but they have a parakeet or a hamster — are parakeets and hamsters deal breakers? If there are any clear-cut reasons an applicant will fall out of favor, it's better to say as much in the rental listing so that less desirable applicants don't waste your time — or their own.
Here's another gray area: Some households, for cultural or religious reasons, value a traditional stay-at-home spouse. Others will have a self-employed spouse, a retired spouse or even a disabled spouse. If you don't know the reason why one person is covering the rent and the other adult can't or won't must that be a factor? It's a gray area because if you don't have a clue that one of your prospective tenants is disabled or retired you might be inclined to think that the "young professionals" — translation: a dual-income couple — are the safer bet. However, you have to realize that within the category of "unemployed" may exist a protected class — people for whom health or even religious reasons only have one income earner in the home.
If you aren't sure whether the reason why you have disqualified an applicant is legitimate, and unwilling to go on the record even for the benefit of those who sincerely want to learn from their rental search, consult an attorney. There are websites where the advice of an attorney, veterinarian, medical doctor or just about any other professional can be obtained at low cost. Look such resources up and use them accordingly. Then be willing to stand behind your decision with confidence. After the time and money your applicant has put into the process — not to mention the sincere hope of living in your community — you owe those who care to follow up the courtesy of a response.
Chances are, you owe your livelihood — if not your mortgage check — to the people who want to call your home or property their home. Too many people wear "Too Important" or "Too Busy" like a badge of honor. In polite company, however, there's only one term for it: bad manners.
Even if your applicant fails to make the cut, don't forget that he/she has friends, colleagues, family and peers with whom she/he interacts. As such, there is NO good reason to leave a bad impression on anyone. One approach is to ask your applicant up front, at the time he/she requests the application, whether he/she wishes to be notified one way or the other. Alternately, you might say "If you are selected, you will hear back from me on the first of the month." If your applicant is the type that would rather take a hint, they'll nod agreeably and leave it at that. If he/she is new to the area or out on the market for the first time in decades thanks to a prior long-term situation in which he/she lived, your prospective applicant may use this opportunity to ask you to let them know what the outcome is. If follow-up is what the applicant(s) want, be a true professional and respect that.
In this age of Facebook, Yelp and all things social media, word gets around. If you have a legitimate reason for rejecting an applicant, your applicant will understand. A vague answer in response to a direct question, on the other hand, will come off as if you don't have enough understanding within your profession to know whether or not you were within your legal rights — or worse it may imply you have knowingly engaged in some form of housing discrimination. If that is NOT the case, don't dodge follow-up questions. It's important to be up front, professional and friendly on both sides of a business transaction. You're in the business of providing services to people — arguably the most critical service there is: housing. Don't do less for your applicant than you would want for yourself in the same situation.
Probably one of the best posts I've seen in a long time.
...........You're in the business of providing services to people — arguably the most critical service there is: housing. Don't do less for your applicant than you would want for yourself in the same situation.
You know why landlords don't call to tell you that you didn't get the house? It's because so many applicants get shirty, cuss, call names, get aggressive, and make threats when they are informed that they didn't get the house.
I do call rejected applicants, but I dread doing it. About thirty percent of the rejected applicants get nasty. Coincidentally, those are often the people who were rejected for lying on their application. Since I very carefully explain my rental criteria and insist that every applicant read my written rental criteria before they apply, I figure that the liars have just paid a fine for being dishonest. They, on the other hand, apparently don't see it that way.
They also seem to think that if they call me a (words not permitted) that I will realize I've made a mistake and change my mind and rent to them after all.
They also seem to think that if they call me a (words not permitted) that I will realize I've made a mistake and change my mind and rent to them after all.
Just Say... Sorry I cant rent it to you. Don't lie saying it rented. & You don't need to give them a reason. As a Tenant I tired of excuses IF you Don't want to rent to me SAY So!
We put it in writing so we don't get any misunderstanding and email them the credit report so they can see we did run it.
Tenants and potential tenants get nasty for all kind of reasons and in almost all cases it is due to not getting what they feel they deserve.
Last week had showings for a rental and a tenant who confirmed an hour prior to the showing of being there failed to show up on time and due to other showings the agent was still on site.
15 Min. After the appointment the potential tenant send a txt that it would take approx. 15 for her to show up. The agent txt back she wouldn't be there in 15 min. Since she had other appointments else where and this potential tenant went off in a txt stating the agent wasted her gas and she came all the way from approx. 30 min. drive and there was traffic on the road and why the agent couldn't understand that.
It doesn't seem to click with this tenant that she knew 10 min. to the appointment she wouldn't be on time and could have send a txt around that time that she is stuck in traffic. Perhaps at the scheduled time a txt but not to show up and no message until 15 min. After the agreed time to say that it would take at approx. 15 min sounds more like someone who believes their time is more important than someone else.
We believe that after seeing the rude and curses in the txt we saved ourselves from another disaster tenant!: ok:
You know why landlords don't call to tell you that you didn't get the house? It's because so many applicants get shirty, cuss, call names, get aggressive, and make threats when they are informed that they didn't get the house.
I do call rejected applicants, but I dread doing it. About thirty percent of the rejected applicants get nasty. Coincidentally, those are often the people who were rejected for lying on their application. Since I very carefully explain my rental criteria and insist that every applicant read my written rental criteria before they apply, I figure that the liars have just paid a fine for being dishonest. They, on the other hand, apparently don't see it that way.
They also seem to think that if they call me a (words not permitted) that I will realize I've made a mistake and change my mind and rent to them after all.
I have past addresses that are not on my credit report. If I list those addresses on my app, did I lie?
If I do not list those addresses on my app, did I lie?
Just Say... Sorry I cant rent it to you. Don't lie saying it rented. & You don't need to give them a reason. As a Tenant I tired of excuses IF you Don't want to rent to me SAY So!
If you pulled their credit report, they are entitled to know if your rejection was based on the report.
You know why landlords don't call to tell you that you didn't get the house? It's because so many applicants get shirty, cuss, call names, get aggressive, and make threats when they are informed that they didn't get the house.
I do call rejected applicants, but I dread doing it. About thirty percent of the rejected applicants get nasty. Coincidentally, those are often the people who were rejected for lying on their application. Since I very carefully explain my rental criteria and insist that every applicant read my written rental criteria before they apply, I figure that the liars have just paid a fine for being dishonest. They, on the other hand, apparently don't see it that way.
They also seem to think that if they call me a (words not permitted) that I will realize I've made a mistake and change my mind and rent to them after all.
That's truly sad. Perhaps it would be safer to email or use a form letter?
I would guess that a percentage of declined renters are flying off the handle because they've spent hundreds of dollars by the time they get to you paying for the cost of their own background/credit checks and may have been turned down more than once and yet still fail to understand of why (because many PMs/brokers/landlords are overly vague or don't follow up at all). I think some of these OTT reactions could be curbed if would-be tenants understood one simple fact: If rental applications are anything like job applications, nobody can deny you the option to fill one out so that you are granted "equal opportunity". However, I have a theory that rather than understand that the landlord/PM is under obligation to appear accommodating to prospective applicants, such applicants' may take that initial "friendliness" as some sort of sign that they have a leg up, only to feel cheated later. (I was reading another thread here where the person had indicated an intent to move from out of state to attend school and everything between her and the out-of-state property manager was very cheery until the application was received, then the OP described the PM as doing "180", including objections to the fact that she and her husband were out of state, which baffled her because she had already made that clear before going to the trouble of applying.) Another factor that may be causing a percentage of declined applicants to lose it is the presence of a firm move-out deadline at their current residence due to a rent increase or the like. They only have so much time to view properties and complete applications even as they risk forcible eviction if they fail to find alternative housing in time. An eviction could mean little chance of finding housing, indefinitely so. I would guess that such individuals are not so much angry in any personal sort of way but in a state of panic.
But that still doesn't excuse abusive behavior.
Under the FTC/Fair Housing laws there is a requirement of "adverse action notice", which basically covers just about any information obtained from a consumer report or tenant service in the event it becomes a factor in determining that the applicant is not a good fit. Unfortunately, there are PMs/landlords who don't make even minimal follow up and therefore fail to comply with the law. Failure to meet Fair Credit Reporting Act obligations can mean that applicants do not learn of damaging consumer/credit information that they may need to correct (if inaccurate) or attempt to remedy (if it's going to cause them to be denied at most places they apply). Whether it's the applicant or the screener, this can be a stressful process.
.........one simple fact: If rental applications are anything like job applications, nobody can deny you the option to fill one out so that you are granted "equal opportunity"........
Quite honestly, I think that the fair housing laws do tenants a disservice. Yes, I am required by law to accept an application and take their application fee, even if I know darn good and well I will not rent to them.
If I get a greasy-haired, smelly, dirty looking person in, I know I won't rent to them. If they can't wash their own blue jeans, I don't see how they are going to keep my house clean. I'd love to tell them to save their money and not put in an application.
But I have to take their application and their money. I have to do the screening and find a legal way to reject them, otherwise I risk them turning around and suing me because I rejected a family with children (that I didn't even know they had). I didn't reject them because they had children, I rejected them because they were such pigs that they couldn't even clean up long enough for a rental interview. But I have to have documented proof that I had a legal reason to reject them.
I know they can't afford to lose the fee and I hate taking the fee from them. But if I can't discourage them from applying by explaining my rental criteria, the law says I have to let them apply.
I do accept families with children. Families with children tend to stay put because they don't want to move the kids to a new school. I like tenants who stay put. But I also prefer tenants who are at least moderately clean and that can take good care of my house.
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re: following up on denied rental applicants
