Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How much does a person's rental history factor in a landlord's decision to accept their application for a rental home? I will have lived only a few months at my current residence, but I've lived for 5 years in my previous home and 9 years in the home before that. My credit score is about 730. Have always paid rent on time. Thank you!
Rental history isn't just about paying rent on time. If you've broken a lease, it can be a no-go. I just had an applicant come in with a mostly spotless rental history, but November was late and she hadn't paid December yet. I declined her. 2 months in a row late, with this one a non-pay...nope.
You saying you've been at your current place for only a few months would be a red flag for me. I'd ask about it, but I would take everything you say, and how you say it, into consideration. Unless you have a month-to-month lease, this would be a cause for concern, a risk. Unfortunately, I can't trust an applicant to tell the truth. I've been lied to way too much.
Credit score can help, but it's a piece of the full puzzle. Sometimes a LL can see that an applicant is a good chance despite one thing or another. So, good credit will help. Not knowing why you're leaving after "only a few months" would be of concern. I feel redundantly redundant.
I'm not sure if I have answered your question. I'm just trying to give you a landlord's perspective on what I've read in the OP.
With your history, if everything else was good, and you told me a good reason for wanting to move already, I'd take you.
I rented to a young man in the same boat, basically, who had moved to the area from another part of CA for a job transfer. He moved into a roommate situation and hated it. He had great references, stable rental history, good credit, etc. I was glad to have him.
He obviously wasn't someone who normally moved around on short notice, and I've been in similar situations, so I understood and believed him. He was a great tenant.
The landlord is going to look at your credit/income/background more than he's going to look at your 'rental' history. If you've always been a homeowner, like we were, this wouldn't apply to you. Your mortgage shows up on your credit report, that's your 'rental' history.
We had zero rental history when we relocated back to Florida and it didn't effect our ability to rent because we met or exceeded their criteria. (credit/income/background) They normally ask for previous address so they can pull reports from different states and or counties if need be.
I disagree with the 'breaking the lease' is a no-go. Eviction? That's a automatic no, but to break a lease?? Nope...nothing wrong or negative about breaking a lease.
How much does a person's rental history factor in a landlord's decision...
That depends mostly on how carefully the new landlord checks on things.
lived for 5 years in my previous home and 9 years in the home before that.
My credit score is about 730. Have always paid rent on time.
You should be fine. Longer term tenancy is the gold standard.
If you are a good tenant you should be more concerned that your LL is worth having you.
Too many just aren't.
---
The tenants who need to worry are the no-pay and other problematic ones who have allowed
minor issues to escalate into easily traced online court actions and in the course of that
behavior have burned bridges with former landlords for references. Whether this tenant was
correct or not, or won in Court or not is almost immaterial.
Pad hoppers, who change addresses often without clear good supportable reason to are assumed
to have had an unreported problem behind their moves. Even with good reasons for the moves
too much hopping in itself is a problem. Good LL's want people who will stay put.
Thanks for your replies everyone! It puts things in clearer perspective. My daughter is moving in with us in June with her infant daughter. The house we just moved into is not suitable to raise a family for a number of reasons, mostly because the location puts us too far from family (i.e. daycare), work and shopping centers, is right on a parkway so there are always cars and truck driving by real fast, plus we can't walk anywhere. The house was also built pre-1978 (1960) so there may be lead-based paint inside.
From a landlord's perspective, if I wanted to break the lease for those reasons and willing to negotiate an early termination, would that be considered wrong or negative?
You should be fine. Longer term tenancy is the gold standard.
If you are a good tenant you should be more concerned that your LL is worth having you.
Too many just aren't.
---
The tenants who need to worry are the no-pay and other problematic ones who have allowed
minor issues to escalate into easily traced online court actions and in the course of that
behavior have burned bridges with former landlords for references. Whether this tenant was
correct or not, or won in Court or not is almost immaterial.
Pad hoppers, who change addresses often without clear good supportable reason to are assumed
to have had an unreported problem behind their moves. Even with good reasons for the moves
too much hopping in itself is a problem. Good LL's want people who will stay put.
if I (needed) to break the lease for (even the most absurd) reason and am willing to
negotiate an early termination would that be considered wrong or negative?
Nope. That's called life. It happens.
The being willing to negotiate is the most important part.
The landlords "duty to mitigate" (whether in statute/case law or just common sense)
with a penalty of one or two months rent is usually as far as the negotiation needs to go.
Well, short of creating a mid snow season empty that will probably remain so until spring.
How much does a person's rental history factor in a landlord's decision to accept their application for a rental home?.........
Rental history is a lot less about how long you have lived at an address and a while lot about what your prior landlords have to say about you.
I'm less interested in how long you lived there and more about whether or not you paid the rent on time, left the place in good clean condition, didn't cause problems, and gave proper notice that you were leaving.
Maybe if an applicant never spent more than 4 months at any address, it would make me nervous. Either he is a bad tenant getting kicked out a lot, or he is a wanderer, and I don't need to have the place vacant again in 4 months, even if it is left clean.
Your rental history doesn't sound unstable, OP, but if you are breaking a lease, I would have to talk to your current landlord to make sure the lease break was mutually agreed upon and your account was settled and you were leaving on good terms.
Thanks for your replies everyone! It puts things in clearer perspective. My daughter is moving in with us in June with her infant daughter. The house we just moved into is not suitable to raise a family for a number of reasons, mostly because the location puts us too far from family (i.e. daycare), work and shopping centers, is right on a parkway so there are always cars and truck driving by real fast, plus we can't walk anywhere. The house was also built pre-1978 (1960) so there may be lead-based paint inside.
From a landlord's perspective, if I wanted to break the lease for those reasons and willing to negotiate an early termination, would that be considered wrong or negative?
The landlord you are currently renting from will not be happy that you are breaking the lease, if that's what you're asking. State laws vary as far as your ability to break a lease and what the penalty would be. Is there an early termination clause in your lease? If not, and you can't negotiate a deal, you'll need to learn your state laws regarding a landlord's duty to mitigate your damages. In other words, can you break the lease and then he has to try to find a replacement asap, and only charge you rent until he finds a new tenant? Or can he sit on his hands and charge you the full rent until the lease expires? Depends on your state laws.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
