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Does your ad really say that? Yikes. Here's a hint- pit bulls are pets. Dogs are pets. Therefore, "no pets" automatically screens out dogs and pit bulls. "Pit bulls" are also "dogs", but that doesn't matter since both are still pets. Your overbearing tone in the listing would certainly scare me (and many other rational people, even those without pets) away. The last thing you want your ad to do is convey "I'm very controlling and will be watching your every move".
Treat this like a business relationship- "3br single family home for rent for $3,xxx per month. Close to transit, recent renovation. No pets allowed." Why do you need to scream at people reading your listing using all caps about a simple, standard policy?
You seem to have a reason why everyone's suggestion is "wrong", which is quite odd- clearly there is something wrong with your listing, your property, or your policies if you can't get a tenant in a hot market where your rent is lower than the comps in the neighborhood.
And seriously, no pictures in the listing?! I would never call a listing that has no pictures. Total waste of time. There are too many terrible properties.
OP has just begun renovations on this property that has sat vacant for 8 years hence the reason for no photos. They are obviously seriously putting the cart way before the horse here with trying to even attempt advertising it for rent. And on top of that, expecting people to come up with $9000 up front for a property that has not even been renovated yet and no photos. And then there is their total lack of knowledge and common sense on how to run a business along with their unprofessional way of stating things in their ad (re: pets). And you wait, next in their ad will be "NO SELF EMPLOYED TENANTS ACCEPTED!!" //www.city-data.com/forum/renti...loyed-may.html
And they wonder why they are having such a difficult time finding good tenants?
Last edited by Corn-fused; 07-25-2016 at 12:38 PM..
I think these are insane requirements for renting because they aren't buying the place and signing for some 30 year mortgage. Plus, they may not stay for that long. Renting is a temporary living agreement, not permanent.
When you stop and think about it they are very reasonable. First of all,
* would you let someone stay after you found out they'd given you a phony SS number and was really David Swanson instead of George Williams, the name on your contract and that David Swanson had been convicted of raping a 10 YO? Phony SS numbers are as common as day in this modern hi-tech world.
* quote "Generally speaking, your rent should be somewhere around 30% of your income." 3K rent = 9K/ mo. salary
* FICO----quote "High End in the burbs....720+....no exceptions."
* if I asked 1st, last + 1 mo security would that be better?
Quote:
Originally Posted by generalswife
I believe the maximum fee for a rental application in CA is $44.51.
I'm not familiar with your rental area, but are the rent comps in the area equal? You can consider lowering your FICO requirement to a "grade B/C" and perhaps lowering the SD to a month and a half. As an incentive you could offer half-off the second month's rent.
However, if your criteria has worked in the past then go with it.
Corn-fused is right. I ran the ad too soon. I was actually testing the waters to see what types of responses I got. Of the 20 or so who responded 50% wouldn't tell me their occupation or salary ("teacher $45,000 a year") without seeing the place. That tells me lookie-loo. Of the 10 who did they were all self-employed in questionable occupations.
Last edited by thrillobyte; 07-25-2016 at 06:00 PM..
When you stop and think about it they are very reasonable. First of all,
* would you let someone stay after you found out they'd given you a phony SS number and was really David Swanson instead of George Williams, the name on your contract and that David Swanson had been convicted of raping a 10 YO? Phony SS numbers are as common as day in this modern hi-tech world.
* quote "Generally speaking, your rent should be somewhere around 30% of your income." 3K rent = 9K/ mo. salary
* FICO----quote "High End in the burbs....720+....no exceptions."
* if I asked 1st, last + 1 mo security would that be better?
Corn-fused is right. I ran the ad too soon. I was actually testing the waters to see what types of responses I got. Of the 20 or so who responded 50% wouldn't tell me their occupation or salary ("teacher $45,000 a year") without seeing the place. That tells me lookie-loo. Of the 10 who did they were all self-employed in questionable occupations.
In California you can't ask first last and deposit.
The link you posted that tenant would have to make 144,000 a year.
FYI as a LL you're going to have to deal with the type of people you dealt with already. It's simple. If they cannot/will not answer your questions you simply say thank you and move on. I think you're taking this whole thing way too personally. You want to know how much thought I give to a potential tenant/inquiry conversation after I hang up the phone? About as much as the weather in the Arctic. I write the answers in my book and then move on. I think you need to put your questions in such way where they don't seem aggressive/intrusive.
What's your credit score? What's your income? (Bla tell me know or I'll huff ad I'll puff and blow the house down. Roar)
Or
Hi. The policy is a credit score over 700 and 3x rent income. Is this policy something you can meet or exceed?
No
Ok im sorry but at this time cannot proceed any further with your application. Thank you for your interest for the property at 123 I wanna live here Street.
Yes.
That's wonderful. I have a few more questions to prequalify you. They will only take a a few moments. Do you have the time to go through them right now?
(Tsme your highest mist op important rules. No pets no bla bla. Don't get into a 1/2 hour quiz. Keep it fast and easy.
If they pass
Ok great. I have X day X time and Y day and Y time. Which would work out with your schedule?
This is the equivalent of some ordinary Joe who just turned 18 saying he will only date then marry, a specific type of supermodel born in the Amazon rainforest whose name begins with the letter H, ends in A, is 6'0" tall and weighs 126lbs, was born to a mother whose named started with M, and owns a pair of Jordan 11s in every size except 10.5.
Corn-fused is right. I ran the ad too soon. I was actually testing the waters to see what types of responses I got. Of the 20 or so who responded 50% wouldn't tell me their occupation or salary ("teacher $45,000 a year") without seeing the place. That tells me lookie-loo. Of the 10 who did they were all self-employed in questionable occupations.
Just...wow. I don't understand your mentality- it's as though you've never been a renter. Perhaps that's the case.
But as someone who has been on both sides of the fence, I can tell you that there are three or four things that would have prevented me from answering your ad in the first place, then on top of that you want people to tell you their occupation and income before they even see the place?!
I think perhaps the biggest issue you're dealing with is that people who make over $140k a year are the types of people who aren't used to being grilled on their financial well-being. Take electrician4you's advice- "this property has a 3x rent salary requirement, is that an issue? No? Great." Confirm after they've expressed interest in renting the place, not before.
There are a lot of things that you are doing wrong, but perhaps the worst is that, like electrician4you has already pointed out, you are taking this WAY too personally. It's just business. You're going to lose some money occasionally. It's going to happen. But as long as you keep your cool and roll with the punches, you can make plenty of money too.
It really doesn't sound like being a landlord is the right business for your personality unless you can figure out how to put on a thicker skin.
When you stop and think about it they are very reasonable. First of all,
* would you let someone stay after you found out they'd given you a phony SS number and was really David Swanson instead of George Williams, the name on your contract and that David Swanson had been convicted of raping a 10 YO? Phony SS numbers are as common as day in this modern hi-tech world.
* quote "Generally speaking, your rent should be somewhere around 30% of your income." 3K rent = 9K/ mo. salary
* FICO----quote "High End in the burbs....720+....no exceptions."
* if I asked 1st, last + 1 mo security would that be better?
Corn-fused is right. I ran the ad too soon. I was actually testing the waters to see what types of responses I got. Of the 20 or so who responded 50% wouldn't tell me their occupation or salary ("teacher $45,000 a year") without seeing the place. That tells me lookie-loo. Of the 10 who did they were all self-employed in questionable occupations.
Sorry, but that is not your only 'issue' here. You have clearly proven in your threads that you flat out don't have the right mentality, patience, personality, common sense, business sense, people skills or understanding to be a LL unless you give all of the control over to someone else who knows how to run/manage the rental end and then you just remain a silent partner. It appears you are in this for the money only and with your severe case of tunnel vision you can't see past all of the $$ signs clogging your brain.
For someone that is renting out two $800 units in SC let me just say this....
Who in their right mind pays $4000/month for a rental?! (The comp you mentioned) I feel sorry for folks that are throwing their money away like that and can't afford to put that toward a mortgage. They need to move to the east coast.
And just by looking at your OP and not really reading the comments I will say your required credit score is a bit ridiculous.
Got a 4+2 1500 sf. in the Glassell Park Los Angeles area to rent for $3K. Good area at the top of the hill. The area is red hot for renters, but everybody answering the ad is so underqualified I might never get it rented. Most everybody is self employed in the craziest kinds of jobs you ever heard of. One was a self-described "private clothes buyer to the stars". Wonder how secure his job is.
Here's part of my ad:
All applicants will have their backgrounds checked. Application fee $50; refunded to successful applicant.
The successful candidate will have
* valid SS number
* AGI of $6000+ (3x's AGI, that's the rule of thumb)
* FICO score of 700+
* verifiable address history for the last 5 years w/
clean rent payment record
* no prior criminal convictions
* no registration in the national sex offender registry
* no prior evictions
* no current/past judgements
* verfiable employment history for last 5 years
* DTI ratio of 35% or below
* security deposit of $6000
Nearly all of this is taken off tenant screening services sample reports so nothing is out of the ordinary. What am I doing wrong? Why aren't I getting quality applicants working around the corner in downtown Los Angeles who are positioned with good jobs?
OP - I think its just how all your requirements are listed makes them seem out there. A few of them are out there IMHO. I think you really are making this way more complicated than it needs to be.
Why do you need to know their DTI? FICO > 700, Verifiable income of at least $9K/month should make you comfortable about their financial viability. You also can consolidate all the criminal stuff into "no criminal record" or something like that. Verifiable employment history over 5 years makes absolutely no sense. Essentially, you wouldnt rent to people who just graduated from college or grad school since many of them may not have 5+ employment.
And then the security deposit of 2 months. I think that will really really make a lot of good potentials not even bother to apply. Even asking for 1st and last month's rent and 1 month security deposit means the same initial capital outlay for the tenant but in my view, is way more palatable. The last house we rented in the bay area had a rent of $4,500 and we looked at many places in the $4,000 - $5,000 / month rent and not one of them asked for 2 months security deposit. A few asked for 1st and last month rent but most asked for 1st month rent and 1 month security deposit. That was standard and these houses are way more expensive than your house so saying that your house is expensive doesnt justify 2 months security deposit. At least as rent, i know as a tenant that this is my money to actually utilize whereas security deposit, you as LL just hold it hostage.. I'm not a renter anymore but i really wouldnt pay anyone 2 months security deposit.
Finally, are you asking for an application before a potential tenant can view the house? I have never ever heard of this. Why would anyone want to do this? The tenant doesnt know you from Adam and they will provide you with their SS? Again, why? I believe you can ask your questions by phone or email (without application fee, SS) and if satisfied, then tenant can view the house and if satisfied, at this point submit an application
Finally, are you asking for an application before a potential tenant can view the house? I have never ever heard of this. Why would anyone want to do this? The tenant doesnt know you from Adam and they will provide you with their SS? Again, why? I believe you can ask your questions by phone or email (without application fee, SS) and if satisfied, then tenant can view the house and if satisfied, at this point submit an application
I would never EVER give a stranger my SSN. That's what background checks are for. You have a prospective tenant go online and pay for a background check (like TransUnion) and they plug in their SSN and they have a peace of mind knowing that you don't have that type of info. You have no right to be asking for that.
OP - I think its just how all your requirements are listed makes them seem out there. A few of them are out there IMHO. I think you really are making this way more complicated than it needs to be.
Why do you need to know their DTI? FICO > 700, Verifiable income of at least $9K/month should make you comfortable about their financial viability. You also can consolidate all the criminal stuff into "no criminal record" or something like that. Verifiable employment history over 5 years makes absolutely no sense. Essentially, you wouldnt rent to people who just graduated from college or grad school since many of them may not have 5+ employment.
And then the security deposit of 2 months. I think that will really really make a lot of good potentials not even bother to apply. Even asking for 1st and last month's rent and 1 month security deposit means the same initial capital outlay for the tenant but in my view, is way more palatable. The last house we rented in the bay area had a rent of $4,500 and we looked at many places in the $4,000 - $5,000 / month rent and not one of them asked for 2 months security deposit. A few asked for 1st and last month rent but most asked for 1st month rent and 1 month security deposit. That was standard and these houses are way more expensive than your house so saying that your house is expensive doesnt justify 2 months security deposit. At least as rent, i know as a tenant that this is my money to actually utilize whereas security deposit, you as LL just hold it hostage.. I'm not a renter anymore but i really wouldnt pay anyone 2 months security deposit.
Finally, are you asking for an application before a potential tenant can view the house? I have never ever heard of this. Why would anyone want to do this? The tenant doesnt know you from Adam and they will provide you with their SS? Again, why? I believe you can ask your questions by phone or email (without application fee, SS) and if satisfied, then tenant can view the house and if satisfied, at this point submit an application
See, this is how a thread that stretches into 50+ entries goes totally off the rails---much like that old game of having children in class form a circle and then passing around a story and comparing what it has morphed into at the end of the circle. I never said I needed to know a person's FICO or his DTI. Reading the OP very carefully (and one person agreed this is how he'd do it as well) I simply put out there what I expect from someone who is going to bother to submit an application for renting. I'm saying, "Fine. If you want to invest the 44 bucks to have your background checked I'm all for it. But if you don't have these criteria then your 44 bucks is going to be wasted." I'm actually doing the person a favor by being totally upfront with them about what I expect and thus giving them the chance to roll the dice or pass. If someone can go down the list and say, "Yep, I've got that and that and that and that. I can nail this" then great; get that app over to me and it won't cost you a dime and you'll get a nice house for a lower-than-market rent thrown in for good measure.
Now during the conversation here on this thread I did say a few times I asked some people what their FICO and income was but that was because they were calling me and saying, well here's how the conversations generally went:
Me: Hello?
Them: I'm calling about the house. I'd like to come and see it.
Me: Great. May I ask really quick what your FICO is?
Them: Oh, I never give that sensitive information out.
Me: Well, can you at least tell me your occupation is and your salary?
Them: I can't give that out either, not until I've seen the house.
Me, Well, that's problematic because I've driven over there numerous times and shown it just to have people say "I love it. My FICO is 350 and I'm a self-employed shopper to the stars. My salary fluctuates of course but it generally ranges in good months up to 5K a month." I live quite a ways from the house. I'm just trying to save both of us a lot of time and gas.
Them: I'm sorry, I just can't give that info out, not without seeing the house. I hope you understand.
Bear in mind I don't know this individual from Adam; he's just a voice on the phone and he's trying to protect "sensitive information"! !
So I hope this helps to get the OP back on track, but I have my doubts. Someone always seems to find fault with some little point I make in every response.
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