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Old 01-28-2008, 01:24 PM
 
Location: where I dont want to be
240 posts, read 1,062,821 times
Reputation: 43

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Radek View Post
It can be expensive to get all those reports. I don't think most landlords require a perfect credit history, and thats where the last landlord comes in handy. Say someone has a 600 credit score, which puts them as 'risky'. But the last landlord has information on that, or affirms that rent was always on time, etc.
NO I agree, but a lot I have talked to stop right at the number not wanting to hear the reasoning behind or taking into consideration other things. It's usually the landlords that only care about money and who cares what is in there. What gets me is they have you fill out an application with everything on it, but never a drivers license to confirm its you.
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Old 01-28-2008, 06:00 PM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
1,368 posts, read 6,487,801 times
Reputation: 542
Quote:
Originally Posted by mom2boys37 View Post
NO I agree, but a lot I have talked to stop right at the number not wanting to hear the reasoning behind or taking into consideration other things. It's usually the landlords that only care about money and who cares what is in there. What gets me is they have you fill out an application with everything on it, but never a drivers license to confirm its you.
Thats a very good point.

My father does something a little interesting with applications. I believe he mostly does the credit check, and I have no clue how much faith he puts on that number, but here's the application process:

He holds an open house, and has a stack of applications available. Anyone is more than welcome to fill out an application, and those who are really interested can put down a deposit of $25. If he goes through the applications, and offers you the place, and you accept... thats part of the security deposit.

If he offers, and you decline since you've found another place, then he gets to keep the money.

If he doesn't offer, he refunds the money.

If you put in an app w/o a deposit, you're bottom of the list.

Its worked really well to get good, committed tenants.
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Old 01-28-2008, 06:04 PM
 
Location: where I dont want to be
240 posts, read 1,062,821 times
Reputation: 43
Quote:
Originally Posted by Radek View Post
Thats a very good point.

My father does something a little interesting with applications. I believe he mostly does the credit check, and I have no clue how much faith he puts on that number, but here's the application process:

He holds an open house, and has a stack of applications available. Anyone is more than welcome to fill out an application, and those who are really interested can put down a deposit of $25. If he goes through the applications, and offers you the place, and you accept... thats part of the security deposit.

If he offers, and you decline since you've found another place, then he gets to keep the money.

If he doesn't offer, he refunds the money.

If you put in an app w/o a deposit, you're bottom of the list.

Its worked really well to get good, committed tenants.
Well what they are doing around is is charging you 20-40 bucks to run your credit and you don't see that. I am not talking corporations (apt complexes) I am talking individuals. I can run my credit report cheaper than 20 bucks. It's a racket around here.
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Old 01-28-2008, 08:06 PM
 
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,653,235 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by ESFP View Post
Here's an experiment I did with one of my houses for rent. I advertised it twice, both almost identical, except one stated "References Required." The non-reference got 35 calls the first week, the reference required one got zero! Hint: Never rent to someone in a hurry. Usually, they're being evicted from somewhere else. And, deposits should be different than the rent, otherwise, tenants think that it's the last months rent and will move without saying anything. I'll spare you my horror stories, not enough room here.
You ever try to get a deposit back from a landlord? They always find some reason to keep it even if you leave the place better than when you moved into it. My deposits are always last month's rent. If it is a different amount which in Georgia it usually is a few hundred dollars, I will simply pay the difference the last month and if the landlord would not take it, life is tough!
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Old 01-29-2008, 01:22 AM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
1,368 posts, read 6,487,801 times
Reputation: 542
Quote:
Originally Posted by KevK View Post
You ever try to get a deposit back from a landlord? They always find some reason to keep it even if you leave the place better than when you moved into it. My deposits are always last month's rent. If it is a different amount which in Georgia it usually is a few hundred dollars, I will simply pay the difference the last month and if the landlord would not take it, life is tough!
It sounds like you've been dealing with some pretty unreasonable landlords.
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Old 01-29-2008, 05:03 AM
 
Location: where I dont want to be
240 posts, read 1,062,821 times
Reputation: 43
Quote:
Originally Posted by KevK View Post
You ever try to get a deposit back from a landlord? They always find some reason to keep it even if you leave the place better than when you moved into it. My deposits are always last month's rent. If it is a different amount which in Georgia it usually is a few hundred dollars, I will simply pay the difference the last month and if the landlord would not take it, life is tough!
I agree..where I am they even want to charge you for cleaning an oven or wiping down a mirror. I am so not lying these corporation that runs these places are a complete joke.
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Old 01-29-2008, 05:55 AM
 
Location: Gary, WV & Springfield, ME
5,826 posts, read 9,574,687 times
Reputation: 17323
I have heard some killer war stories, aside from making a few mistakes myself.

Now as far as giving back the security deposit, that should be cut and dried. If it's not spelled out exactly on the rental agreement about how the apartment or unit should be cleaned (if differently than how it was when you got it), then that security deposit belongs to the tenant. Period.

When I rented out one place, I bought a savings bond for the exact amount of the security deposit and doing that, there is no service charge by a bank to maintain it - and it will grow with interest. Even though I might have to cash it well before it matures, there is still growth even after 6 months. The principal remains intact and I get a few dollars on the side. Tenant wants to leave, I cash it out and hand their deposit over with a few extra dollars to keep so I am financially ahead of the game than where I started. The longer the tenants stay, the more it will grow. And if things go south, I have that much more I can apply to getting the unit professionally cleaned.
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Old 05-17-2011, 09:42 AM
 
1 posts, read 4,523 times
Reputation: 10
My husband and I have been renting from the same landlord for the past three years, for all but the last two months we were at one location but we have moved to another location of his. The house we lived at before was owned by a man in Europe and he decided to sell so our landlord came to look at our old house and was intrested in buying it when he went through we pointed out everything that was wrong with it and he said he would have fixed all of those things if it were his house. Then he invited us to move into one of his houses saying that everything would be fixed on time. Fast foward to about nine months ago where the furnace blows up. At the time my husband and I were sleeping in the basement which was our room. There is soot and ash everywhere so the next morning I call him, after several attempts to fix it he decides it half works and thats enough. Then he wants us to move into the home we live in now because he wants to fix the furnace and needs the house empty to do so. We move out, after we move out we begin to notice problems with the new house. The office roof leaks and the floor beneath the toilet is rotted out and may crash through at any point according to a friend of ours who works in repairs like that. I called him about the roof four times the first two weeks after we discovered it, he has also come out to collect rent twice. Everytime we mention the roof or the toilet he says ohhh I forgot. He never repaired the furnace in the old home and already has tenants living there. He also still has yet to bring out our lease so we have no room to stand on if we want to have it repaired out of the rent or with hold rent until he does the repairs. I have never had issues this big with a landlord. We even fixed up this house when we moved in. Including cleaning up a huge mess from the people who lived here before and cleaning the previous house. The landlord insisted we clean the other house spotless, not that we wouldn't have i was planning on it but ended up getting the flu so i couldn't do it fast enough. He began calling me six times a day for a week wanting to know when i was going to clean the house because he really needed it cleaned. My landlord is a lazy jerk but i do feel for you landlords that have tenants that royally screwed up your homes.
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Old 05-17-2011, 12:17 PM
 
Location: Boise, ID
8,046 posts, read 28,352,315 times
Reputation: 9469
Deleted

Last edited by Lacerta; 05-17-2011 at 12:39 PM..
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Old 05-17-2011, 12:31 PM
 
Location: St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
24,665 posts, read 69,418,810 times
Reputation: 26726
Lacerta, you're responding to a post which died over three years ago but which a new poster revived today.

To the new OP, did you ever address in writing your problems and maintenance issues to the LL? If you create a new thread about your current problems you may well get some instructive/constructive responses but it's hard when you latch onto a very old thread as the responses all too often address the original thread when people don't read dates (which is VERY easy to do!)
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