Would you rent to military? (Atlanta: renter, mortgage, house) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

LovelySummer · 06-13-2013, 07:27 PM

So we are thinking of renting our home and there is a lady that is in the military that wants to rent the house. However, she is not willing to waive that provision that says that she still has to pay if she gets deployed. So, the lease would terminate automatically. She has orders to be here for at least 2 years. But I can't help but worry that if she gets deployed, we will be stuck without a tenant and may not have much notice to find another. Plus, we'd have to pay our agent another month's rent to find us a new tenant.

I'm thinking that it's not worth it but I'd hate to decide against her if the chance of deployment is super slim. She's in the navy.

What are your thoughts? Thanks so much.

gtcorndog · 06-13-2013, 07:34 PM

It is pretty much guaranteed the renter won't lose their job. Also, if there is any rent payment issues, write her Commanding Officer a note and you'll get paid. Military renters are my favorite for my rental property. The risk of a possible deployment is worth it IMO.

I'm former navy. Feel free to PM and I can give you a better idea if there is a chance she'll deploy.

Side note: what is with PMs charging a renters finder fee here in Atlanta? My PM in Virginia doesn't charge that and only gets 10% of rent. That is pretty much standard there.

LovelySummer · 06-13-2013, 08:13 PM

GT,
Thank you for your comments. I guess I am a little in the dark bc I know nothing about the military. How would I even know who her Commanding Officer is or how to reach him/her? Are you saying that if she got deployed and there was 6 more months left on the lease, I could write the Commanding Officer, explain the situation, and the Commanding Officer would have the Navy send me the rent payment for the remaining 6 months in the 12 month lease?

gtcorndog · 06-13-2013, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LovelySummer

GT,
Thank you for your comments. I guess I am a little in the dark bc I know nothing about the military. How would I even know who her Commanding Officer is or how to reach him/her? Are you saying that if she got deployed and there was 6 more months left on the lease, I could write the Commanding Officer, explain the situation, and the Commanding Officer would have the Navy send me the rent payment for the remaining 6 months in the 12 month lease?

No. I meant that if she became a deadbeat and was paying rent late or missing payment, you could contact her Unit and they would make her pay. The military an get pretty intrusive into the lives of its employees. I would ask for a copy of her orders or just ask what unit she was a part of when the lease is signed. This could be part of the employment verification process.

If she gets orders and has to deploy, she gets out of the lease. I'm not even sure that she can waive that right.

There is a risk of her getting deployed, but I don't think that is likely. If she is stationed in the Atlanta area, she isn't likely attached to a deployable unit. To get called up to deploy from a non-deploying unit these days is very unlikely.

Also, I would rent to an Officer in the navy without thought. I would rent to an enlisted prrson , but I would give their application much more scrutiny.

LovelySummer · 06-13-2013, 10:03 PM

I sent you a DM and thanks very much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtcorndog

No. I meant that if she became a deadbeat and was paying rent late or missing payment, you could contact her Unit and they would make her pay. The military an get pretty intrusive into the lives of its employees. I would ask for a copy of her orders or just ask what unit she was a part of when the lease is signed. This could be part of the employment verification process.

If she gets orders and has to deploy, she gets out of the lease. I'm not even sure that she can waive that right.

There is a risk of her getting deployed, but I don't think that is likely. If she is stationed in the Atlanta area, she isn't likely attached to a deployable unit. To get called up to deploy from a non-deploying unit these days is very unlikely.

Also, I would rent to an Officer in the navy without thought. I would rent to an enlisted prrson , but I would give their application much more scrutiny.

netsirk · 06-13-2013, 10:15 PM

You can write it into the contract. My mom used to rent to military, and it was written in that if he was relocated, there was a provision for a certain number of months after leaving. The guy signed it willingly, and it never happened. I suspect the military would have paid it. The point is that you have to leave yourself with security, and it's not unusual to do so--even for military.

LovelySummer · 06-13-2013, 10:19 PM

I totally agree (on security). We asked her to sign a provision but she was uncomfortable with that. I don't understand. What does someone in the military expect a landlord to do, just sit and hope that all goes well? We would charge the same price as for someone else that does not have a chance of being deployed (bc they are not in the military) so what is the landlord getting in exchange for this risk? I don't get it. Maybe the answer is to move on to another application.

Quote:

Originally Posted by netsirk

You can write it into the contract. My mom used to rent to military, and it was written in that if he was relocated, there was a provision for a certain number of months after leaving. The guy signed it willingly, and it never happened. I suspect the military would have paid it. The point is that you have to leave yourself with security, and it's not unusual to do so--even for military.

mrsarmy · 06-14-2013, 05:50 PM

I ventured on this forum to ask a question about Atlanta, and happened to see this post. My husband is active duty military, and we have had to use the military clause to get out of a lease when we got orders for a new duty station. The problem you are going to run into is that her ability to get out of a lease if deployed or relocated is tied to the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act. Even if she signed the addendum, you likely could not hold her to it. She would, however, have to provide you with an official copy of orders indicating deployment or permanent change of station. Our current lease says that the orders must indicate relocation greater than 50 miles outside of our current assignment, we couldn't use the clause to break the lease if we wanted to move to a different house in town.

LovelySummer · 06-15-2013, 10:38 AM

Thanks for your comments. We decided to go with an another tenant. Too many risks involved. Too much uncertainty. We didn't want to find out he was getting transferred in say November or December and be stuck paying our old mortgage and the new mortgage. It's just not worth it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsarmy

I ventured on this forum to ask a question about Atlanta, and happened to see this post. My husband is active duty military, and we have had to use the military clause to get out of a lease when we got orders for a new duty station. The problem you are going to run into is that her ability to get out of a lease if deployed or relocated is tied to the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act. Even if she signed the addendum, you likely could not hold her to it. She would, however, have to provide you with an official copy of orders indicating deployment or permanent change of station. Our current lease says that the orders must indicate relocation greater than 50 miles outside of our current assignment, we couldn't use the clause to break the lease if we wanted to move to a different house in town.

roxyrn · 06-15-2013, 06:58 PM

I understand that as a landlord, you do not want to risk having your property vacant for a few months.
But, it doesn't seem right that you don't want to rent to someone just because they may get orders to leave to fight for his/her/our country.