Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Connecticut
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-24-2011, 08:20 PM
 
680 posts, read 1,576,466 times
Reputation: 180

Advertisements

Someone made an offer to rent our house but his agent say he has bad credit due to a current short sale of his house in the same town. The person's sister with good credit can be the lead on the lease. They made an offer of $200 less my asking price with 6 months deposit put in escrow.

I like having 6 months rent in escrow so that gives me some buffer in case he loses his job but currently I am having difficulty verifying if he actually has a job. He works for a regional bank's back office as VP and he said the HR has been outsourced so it will take quite long to get an official letter stating his position and employment status. He did however gave me his company email and office location in NYC.

I am thinking of simply viewing his latest payslip OR his latest tax return to determine if he has that well-paying job or not. Internet has tonnes reveal tonnes of tactics that range from inspecting his current residence to questioning the tenant's pastor (all sound like overkill to me).

Am I too slack to vet my tenant by only verifying his income? What else do I need to do?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-24-2011, 08:24 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
1,292 posts, read 1,977,743 times
Reputation: 1502
He has bad credit and you can't verify employment? Run, don't walk, away from him!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-24-2011, 08:46 PM
 
680 posts, read 1,576,466 times
Reputation: 180
Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerAnthony View Post
He has bad credit and you can't verify employment? Run, don't walk, away from him!
The latest pay slip from his bank should be enough right? no?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-24-2011, 09:35 PM
 
Location: New England
8,155 posts, read 21,012,444 times
Reputation: 3338
You can't verify employment? You can't make a phone call and/or have something faxed? You can't get a pay stub?

They gave you 6 months deposit? AND you have a "credit worthy" person ready to sign? Come on.

Verify the basics and then make your decision. This is where you have to decide, if you are going to be humane or a typical rich ahole. If he has a job, gave you 6 months reserve, and you were able verify what you can...so they did a short sale. Big deal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2011, 12:32 AM
 
680 posts, read 1,576,466 times
Reputation: 180
Quote:
Originally Posted by JViello View Post
You can't verify employment? You can't make a phone call and/or have something faxed? You can't get a pay stub?

They gave you 6 months deposit? AND you have a "credit worthy" person ready to sign? Come on.

Verify the basics and then make your decision. This is where you have to decide, if you are going to be humane or a typical rich ahole. If he has a job, gave you 6 months reserve, and you were able verify what you can...so they did a short sale. Big deal.
That is good enough for me but I don't know what else I should do.

I told him once I can see his payslip Im ready to sign the tenancy agreement. What I do not understand is how the rent escrow work. Lets say he gives me 6 months rent in escrow - does he pay me in the last 6 months with money from the escrow or is that something I return to him lump sum with security deposit after the lease ends?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2011, 08:52 AM
 
Location: Tennessee
1,031 posts, read 2,448,465 times
Reputation: 745
Quote:
Originally Posted by Konig1985 View Post
That is good enough for me but I don't know what else I should do.

I told him once I can see his payslip Im ready to sign the tenancy agreement. What I do not understand is how the rent escrow work. Lets say he gives me 6 months rent in escrow - does he pay me in the last 6 months with money from the escrow or is that something I return to him lump sum with security deposit after the lease ends?
Money that goes in Escrow only comes out when the tenant's lease is up or he is being evicted. I may be incorrect, but even if the tenant stops paying rent, you can not touch that money to pay rent. If you're owed past rent, it may be an issue for small claims court. All of that being said, if the potential tenant is concerned about losing a job again, it makes more sense for him to give you 2 months rent to put in Escrow and to put the other 4 months in personal savings in case he falls on hard times. That way you wouldn't have to form a new agreement about removing Escrow funds so that the tenant would have personal funds to pay the rent.

Anyway, sounds like an okay tenant with a down-on-his-luck past. Verify employment, get a copy of the credit score for your records (even though you know it won't be good), and ask for at least 2 personal references before offering a lease. Best references for a homeowner would be past neighbors or roommates to make sure the tenant isn't a slob.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2011, 09:44 AM
 
Location: Bellevue, WA
1,497 posts, read 4,460,547 times
Reputation: 640
If he didn't lose his job, why is his current home in short sale in the 1st place? Was it a job loss or a calculated investment decision? I'd be very wary of renting to anyone who already has destroyed credit. They have nothing to lose. Unless rentals are flooding your area, I'd look elsewhere.

A VP with a short sale? Sounds odd...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2011, 12:46 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,948 posts, read 56,980,181 times
Reputation: 11229
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjinla View Post
If he didn't lose his job, why is his current home in short sale in the 1st place? Was it a job loss or a calculated investment decision? I'd be very wary of renting to anyone who already has destroyed credit. They have nothing to lose. Unless rentals are flooding your area, I'd look elsewhere.

A VP with a short sale? Sounds odd...
There could be many reasons his home is in a short sale. It could be he has a balloon mortgage due and the value of the home sunk below what any bank would give him a mortgage. Not a good posiiton but one that many people are in these days. Jay
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2011, 12:54 PM
 
Location: New England
8,155 posts, read 21,012,444 times
Reputation: 3338
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjinla View Post
If he didn't lose his job, why is his current home in short sale in the 1st place? Was it a job loss or a calculated investment decision? I'd be very wary of renting to anyone who already has destroyed credit. They have nothing to lose. Unless rentals are flooding your area, I'd look elsewhere.

A VP with a short sale? Sounds odd...
Credit scores don't mean everything. I had a dark period when I went through a divorce, the debts were eventually taken care of but the score took a big hit. Does that mean I'm not responsible? Of course not.

Life throws curveballs. A friend of mine just went through foreclosure in FL and they are now living back in CT renting for the past two years with no issues. I guess they should just live in the street?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2011, 03:38 PM
 
Location: Bellevue, WA
1,497 posts, read 4,460,547 times
Reputation: 640
Not saying they should be homeless, but if you are a single homeowner completely dependant on that rental income you would be wise to only accept people with stellar credit. I've seen owners of rental properties almost foreclose because they can't get the deadbeat tenants out. People with large complexes can spread the risk among a greater number of tenants, but in this case you are putting all of your income eggs in a questionable basket. Yes, it could be all of us one day and I thank God it's not, but is it the wisest business decision to rent to someone with bad credit, that is supposedly a VP but with no reachable HR manager? Eh.....
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Connecticut
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:57 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top