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All I tried to get across was that because their income is often seasonable and at the whim of their clientele it is not as reliable as a salaried employee who draws a steady check.
You do realize that lots of "reliable salaried employees" will go to work tomorrow and find their services are no longer needed by their employer due to business downturns, off-shoring or many other reasons.
I mean I don't find that concept rocket science. But the way people have attacked me you'd think I shot their best friend.
Many here are frustrated because you appear to be going about this completely wrong and may be headed for serious trouble.
You claim to be "reading" a lot to study up on it, but all you appear to be doing is reading random online forums with NO idea of whether the info there is backed up with facts. It's the same as reading a soap opera fan forum for advice on relationships.
Honestly, I would sell the property. Even if you hire a property manager, you don't appear to know enough about this business to manage the property managers.
their income is often seasonable and at the whim of their clientele it is not as reliable as a salaried employee who draws a steady check.
What if someone who's currently employed ends up relocating a few months later because they got a promotion, got a better job elsewhere or for some other reason that they had to leave at that instant? That's something landlords would never foresee.
There shouldn't be a problem with someone who is self-employed. Like anything else, it should be verified through tax returns and 1099 forms to verify the tax return is legitimate. When it comes to verification, if they didn't document the income (report it on their tax return), it either didn't exist or they are evading taxes. I suppose you could request to see bank statements showing deposits as well.
OMG, I mean I suppose I can see why people get upset at me because I'm usually a pretty forthright guy but really am I that hard to understand? The point of the story was don't rely on a property manager to do what you expect of them because often they're more clueless than the LL. Was it that difficult to get that point across? Here's what I said:
And then I followed with a story of a guy who did exactly that: made the mistake of trusting his PM to do the legwork to get a good tenant and how trusting him to do it turned out to be a bad mistake:
I mean I cannot believe I have to write out a flowchart of this for you, karen. Is it really that difficult to put these pieces together?????
LOL, um, thanks for the "flowchart," but in your lovely and polite response to me, you left out the "story" that I quoted -- you know, the one about you sitting on the crapper ("like we all do") reading a Facebook post from one of your buddies. THAT was what I was asking about when I wrote, "What on earth was the point of that bizarre story?" The quote about the Facebook post was directly above my question, so I thought it would be, you know, clear what I was asking about.
I guess from all the 's in your response to me, it wasn't clear to you. OTOH, I got rep'd. for it about 2 minutes after I posted, so I think at least one other poster was wondering about it too.
Good luck with your properties, and have a nice day.
Many here are frustrated because you appear to be going about this completely wrong and may be headed for serious trouble.
You claim to be "reading" a lot to study up on it, but all you appear to be doing is reading random online forums with NO idea of whether the info there is backed up with facts. It's the same as reading a soap opera fan forum for advice on relationships.
Honestly, I would sell the property. Even if you hire a property manager, you don't appear to know enough about this business to manage the property managers.
Many are making a mountain out of a molehill. All I said was it may be wiser to rent to a salaried employee rather than a self-employee. Many think I put myself deep in the left field of total insanity for saying that despite the fact most LL's feel the same way. I'm quite aware that people are saying one thing and practicing another because nobody in their right mind would rent to a professional dog-walker, I don't care if their client list included God and Oprah.
The property can't be sold because my mother would incur a huge capital gain tax. It can only be rented or sit vacant. What would you do if you wanted the best tenant you could find? According to what lots of people are advising I'm damned if I do and if I don't. Okey above says I could get a salaried person but they could lose their job tomorrow. True. And the world could end tomorrow too. It's all a crapshoot but you go with the situation that gives you the likeliest successful outcome, true? And I believe I've been very rational in my responses. But the tone of the thread has been me saying I'd feel safer with a salaried person and nearly everybody else telling me why I'm crazy for not renting to a freelance fitness instructor. Who's really crazy here?
LOL, um, thanks for the "flowchart," but in your lovely and polite response to me, you left out the "story" that I quoted -- you know, the one about you sitting on the crapper ("like we all do") reading a Facebook post from one of your buddies. THAT was what I was asking about when I wrote, "What on earth was the point of that bizarre story?" The quote about the Facebook post was directly above my question, so I thought it would be, you know, clear what I was asking about.
I guess from all the 's in your response to me, it wasn't clear to you. OTOH, I got rep'd. for it about 2 minutes after I posted, so I think at least one other poster was wondering about it too.
Good luck with your properties, and have a nice day.
OMG, if you'd read the post you'd have seen that the part about someone being on the crapper was in quotes. It was part of the story the other guy was telling about how he was using the john when he got a call from a friend saying he was on Facebook, it wasn't me on the crapper. My God, you had me worried I really thought it was me losing my mind.
Quote:
I got rep'd. for it about 2 minutes after I posted
Yes, again I understand how and why I ruffle feathers. The problem is people jump to the last post I write and get a fragmented synopsis of what I'm saying. But you must admit, karen, you jumped the gun thinking I was saying it was me on the crapper when in fact it was part of the other guy's story.
LOL, that's a genuine sign it's time for this thread to die, die, die.
I was researching problems with renting to self-employed and came across this:
Some of that may be a little over the top ("they're all drug users") but the point I think the LL is making is that most self-employed, unless they own a Forbes 500, are a sketchy at best. I was concerned about the discrimination issue. Here's a response:
So I'll tell the PM who will be renting it, "No self-employed!"
I find it interesting that of the 20 or so people who responded to my ad and gave up their occupation, all were "self-employed". Tells me that a lot of unqualified people are desperate to get into an area they simply cannot afford. Mostly young people with dogs and kids.
Undoubtedly one of the weakest reasons to decline someone I've ever seen. We rent to self employed persons all the time. We require 2 years tax return to prove their income. The Sched C is normally sufficient.
I'd say you need to stop judging based on what their occupation is (as long as it's legal) and start judging on if they can pay their rent on time, have a good history of paying rent on time, will treat your property respectful, and are decent people.
I'd say you need to stop judging based on what their occupation is (as long as it's legal) and start judging on if they can pay their rent on time, have a good history of paying rent on time, will treat your property respectful, and are decent people.
Amen! As I stated previously, OP needs to just go through his punch list and if they meet all of those qualifications then they qualify. Period.
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Here's what I said:
