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.
Yes, but only if by "better" you mean when ALL factors are considered... of course if everything else is equal, I'll take the one with a more stable credit/financial history. So I'm more referring to the landlords who draw a single line in the sand (e.g. no credit scores under 640), and refuse to even consider extenuating circumstances or other factors. That's not how I'd want to be, and given my own experiences from the other side, I really don't think I would.
And I have run into landlords like that, which cost me a couple of really great places. One in particular still makes me sad, because it was the PERFECT place (at the time). They'd already tentatively accepted me, too, but then rescinded the offer after running my info through a "service." That service didn't even give them my report or score, just a hard yes/no result - and when it came back as "no," they refused to look at the full report I offered. Well, the husband was willing, but his wife wasn't.
Because everyone has a sob story and we can't tell the difference between the 20% that are legitimate like yourself, and the 80% who know to say whatever they need to in order to get the LL to say yes. They all say the same thing, they all talk about exceptional circumstances and how it hadn't happened before, and it won't happen again, and what if my mom co-signs, and my dad would pay if I got behind, and on and on. LLs have heard it all and most of the time, the best sounding story ends up with us regretting making yet another exception that we had a feeling we shouldn't have made, but we let the sob story get the best of us, yet again. Eventually, with experience, we learn to look at the whole picture and rely on qualifiers such as credit and income.
Because if every landlord felt that way, those of us in the "possible risk" category would be homeless? Thankfully they DON'T all think that way, and many are willing to look beyond the numbers... they might choose me (or someone like me) for other reasons, like personality, occupation & job stability, or simply being the first to say "I want it - here's my deposit!" The larger complexes are also more likely to make exceptions, since they have more units to fill, and just request a larger deposit if you're a risk. As I said earlier, I think that is totally fair.
I dub people with your mindset "NIMBY" landlords, and if I ever become a property/rental owner, I have vowed to not be one of those. If it bites me in the end, oh well; at least I'll still be able to sleep at night, knowing I'm not a hypocrite who refused to give anyone "less than perfect" a chance. I'm a good judge of character too, so I usually trust my instincts and try to judge people individually.
You're kind of naive. You have to understand that you're not as "undesirable" a tenant as you seem to think you are. Stable work history, income, and rental history count for a LOT.
Every landlord doesn't have the luxury of maintaining high standards (or as high standards) as some claim on here. If every vacancy could be filled by someone with a rock solid credit history and solid financial footing, there wouldn't be nearly as many renters out there.
You're kind of naive. You have to understand that you're not as "undesirable" a tenant as you seem to think you are. Stable work history, income, and rental history count for a LOT.
Every landlord doesn't have the luxury of maintaining high standards (or as high standards) as some claim on here. If every vacancy could be filled by someone with a rock solid credit history and solid financial footing, there wouldn't be nearly as many renters out there.
That is true, landlords do have to also pick the best of the worst at times to fill units.
We don't rent but our former neighbor used to live on the 1st floor of his 3-unit house. Every time a new tenant is being sought, I'll tell him whether it's a yes or no. He's a nice guy, cannot be objective, and picks horribly... he'll feel bad for the single mom of 2 who went to school with his little sister and works at a restaurant. But we live across the street, saw her come early, send her MethHead-looking boyfriend for a walk with their nasty, growling animal (no pets allowed), feral children, and leave her hoopty car parked up the street. (She told our LL-Friend that she walked from work down the street.) That's just one example... he didn't listen to me, her dad paid the first/last/security directly to him, she never paid rent, the apt. was destroyed, and it took 3 months (after the 2 he gave her to catch up) to evict her. From his choices of tenants, he has a 100% failure rate... in that every one he's chosen has a judgement he had to seek. All uncollected, still.
Now, he's only needed me to keep an eye out twice in 10 years... because the tenants I pick stay for years and leave it impeccable. So, maybe ask a neighbor to offer their judgement to you; they might very well be GLAD to make that call based on what kind of neighbor your potential tenants might be to them.
We don't rent but our former neighbor used to live on the 1st floor of his 3-unit house. Every time a new tenant is being sought, I'll tell him whether it's a yes or no. He's a nice guy, cannot be objective, and picks horribly... he'll feel bad for the single mom of 2 who went to school with his little sister and works at a restaurant. But we live across the street, saw her come early, send her MethHead-looking boyfriend for a walk with their nasty, growling animal (no pets allowed), feral children, and leave her hoopty car parked up the street. (She told our LL-Friend that she walked from work down the street.) That's just one example... he didn't listen to me, her dad paid the first/last/security directly to him, she never paid rent, the apt. was destroyed, and it took 3 months (after the 2 he gave her to catch up) to evict her. From his choices of tenants, he has a 100% failure rate... in that every one he's chosen has a judgement he had to seek. All uncollected, still.
Now, he's only needed me to keep an eye out twice in 10 years... because the tenants I pick stay for years and leave it impeccable. So, maybe ask a neighbor to offer their judgement to you; they might very well be GLAD to make that call based on what kind of neighbor your potential tenants might be to them.
I think one would be surprised... what's the downside of paying attention to what goes on in your neighborhood, as you always do? Handpicking your neighbor?
You're kind of naive. You have to understand that you're not as "undesirable" a tenant as you seem to think you are. Stable work history, income, and rental history count for a LOT.
Every landlord doesn't have the luxury of maintaining high standards (or as high standards) as some claim on here. If every vacancy could be filled by someone with a rock solid credit history and solid financial footing, there wouldn't be nearly as many renters out there.
Naive? I've rented over 20 places in the last 25 years, so no - I'm not naive at all! I know what you're saying is true, otherwise I would be homeless. From the college years where I had to use a co-signer (parent) to my early career with little money, having pets, etc, I've always had to rely on landlords who "consider the big picture." I am only debating what the posters here claim/say, which I realize needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Heck, I even said right in the post you quoted: "thankfully they don't all think that way."
I've never been a landlord, though I've had a few (good) ones. Something I've wondered:
when screening for potential tenants, how do you screen out a hoarder?
Conversations with the person's former landlord/s? Offering to give them a lift home, then finagling a way to see inside their current residence?
It would horrify me to learn that a tenant was a hoarder. Then I learn that hoarding is a mental illness protected under the Fair Housing Act! Yikes!
Seems the only way to proceed (to me) would be as quiet as possible about a vacancy, then work friends/family about clean, reasonable, potential candidates; avoiding advertising at all costs. That's what I would do.
What would you do?
Every landlord should require a current address. All you have to do is drop by unannounced.
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.
