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Old 05-16-2017, 07:32 AM
 
Location: My beloved Bluegrass
20,112 posts, read 16,092,479 times
Reputation: 28292

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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrRational View Post
I beg to differ.

The Q you have is about the dearth of "qualified" applicants you're getting
which is forcing you to even consider allowing a "teen left alone" scenario...
regardless of other qualifications.
In neither the title nor in the first post was this asked. To insist that it is, especially after the OP specifically said it was not, verges on thread hijacking.
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Old 05-16-2017, 07:33 AM
 
Location: 89052 & 75206
8,103 posts, read 8,286,045 times
Reputation: 19902
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrRational View Post
I beg to differ.

The Q you have is about the dearth of "qualified" applicants you're getting
which is forcing you to even consider allowing a "teen left alone" scenario...
regardless of other qualifications.
I know you want to be helpful. Departing tenants have lived in this (one of my 10 rental houses -- I've been a Landlord sine 1988) place for 5 years. My rental amount is about $50 below market to attract interest and retain good tenants. I respond to inquiries with a strong pre-screening qualification email that auto responds -- so no trouble for me. When they then respond back I seriously evaluate who I will make appointments to view the house. I am only on day 2 of the process. The reason for the question is the lovely email letter sent by the person that really touched my heart. So that's the story and thanks for assuming I am deficient and need guidance but I am ok.
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Old 05-16-2017, 07:50 AM
 
539 posts, read 564,109 times
Reputation: 976
Just saying, its illegal to discriminate or deny those with children. Teenagers qualify as children.

Not sure why you're making it so hard though. The FIRST qualified tenant, you should have scheduled an appointment with them. If they're a match they get the place. If not go to the very next qualified application. Keep doing it like that. Don't wait until you get a pool of applications and look at them all and say, "well, single mothers don't typically make that much so I'm doubting her income, and I don't want children in the house I'm renting out." That right there I see two illegal ways you discriminated and blasted it on the internet.

Advice to the question at hand, every child is different, every mom is different, all parenting varies from one parent to another. Just because you saw an unruly kid when you were a kid doesn't mean all kids are that way. Didn't sound as if you, as a kid, approved of such heavy partying or your opinion about it wouldn't be so skewed. That there means kids aren't always like that.

Don't be so harsh to judge, especially when it can land you in some serious hot water with lawsuits, if your ways of choosing applicants continues.
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Old 05-16-2017, 08:03 AM
 
Location: 89052 & 75206
8,103 posts, read 8,286,045 times
Reputation: 19902
Quote:
Originally Posted by MigratingCoconut View Post
Just saying, its illegal to discriminate or deny those with children. Teenagers qualify as children.

Not sure why you're making it so hard though. The FIRST qualified tenant, you should have scheduled an appointment with them. If they're a match they get the place. If not go to the very next qualified application. Keep doing it like that. Don't wait until you get a pool of applications and look at them all and say, "well, single mothers don't typically make that much so I'm doubting her income, and I don't want children in the house I'm renting out." That right there I see two illegal ways you discriminated and blasted it on the internet.

Advice to the question at hand, every child is different, every mom is different, all parenting varies from one parent to another. Just because you saw an unruly kid when you were a kid doesn't mean all kids are that way. Didn't sound as if you, as a kid, approved of such heavy partying or your opinion about it wouldn't be so skewed. That there means kids aren't always like that.



Don't be so harsh to judge, especially when it can land you in some serious hot water with lawsuits, if your ways of choosing applicants continues.
Point made. I lease to families, and all other protected classes. I make specific showing appointments on a single day and have staggered viewings during that afternoon, I don't run out to show a property one candidate at a time for single appointments. It makes life a lot easier for my tenants who still reside in the property and me as well. All showings between a small window of time on a weekend afternoon by appt. It saves a lot of running back and forth. So I narrow down to a small pool and then schedule. If you are a landlord you probably know that people's stories change considerably between inquiry to approval, so my process has worked for me and provides backup candidates if/when the first in line fails background verifications.

I can base my decision about accepting unsupervised kids in the house after school, that is not a disparate impact for race nor is it discrimination against families with children. I have and have had many families with kids but always a parent's working hours either had kids in daycare or a parent was home after school.

Last edited by WorldKlas; 05-16-2017 at 08:11 AM..
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Old 05-16-2017, 08:04 AM
 
16,715 posts, read 19,358,105 times
Reputation: 41482
Quote:
Originally Posted by WorldKlas View Post
One of the 3 wrote that she moved to an apartment last summer with her teen son (escaping an abusive marriage) and now hopes to lease this house.
I would be more concerned about the drama that can be wrought by an abusive husband.

I might consider her anyway, to help her, and I'm sure that's the reason she even brought it up. So I would verify all of my usual requirements.

In addition, I'd ask to see her paperwork such as a restraining order. If she doesn't have one, I'm disinclined to help. To me, that either means she's lying, or it wasn't bad enough for her.

I have no need for an abusive husband to come back and destroy my property because his wife is living there and he hasn't had enough.
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Old 05-16-2017, 08:15 AM
 
Location: 89052 & 75206
8,103 posts, read 8,286,045 times
Reputation: 19902
Quote:
Originally Posted by convextech View Post
I would be more concerned about the drama that can be wrought by an abusive husband.

I might consider her anyway, to help her, and I'm sure that's the reason she even brought it up. So I would verify all of my usual requirements.

In addition, I'd ask to see her paperwork such as a restraining order. If she doesn't have one, I'm disinclined to help. To me, that either means she's lying, or it wasn't bad enough for her.

I have no need for an abusive husband to come back and destroy my property because his wife is living there and he hasn't had enough.
Yep. I have also thought about that one..... thanks! This is probably not going to happen. There are a couple of others who meet screening requirements and contacted ahead of her with less issues for me to consider.
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Old 05-16-2017, 08:16 AM
 
Location: 89052 & 75206
8,103 posts, read 8,286,045 times
Reputation: 19902
So, not really hearing from anyone regarding experiences renting to tenants with unsupervised teens in the house after school.......
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Old 05-16-2017, 08:47 AM
 
Location: In my cat's house, until she finds a better human servant
372 posts, read 388,914 times
Reputation: 812
To the op: not all teens are party animals and irresponsible, just as not all abused women are basket cases who will bring drama. Asking for documents to 'prove' abuse is pretty cruel and many women don't get a restraining order because when it comes down to it, it's pretty worthless in in most situations (and sometimes make it worse)

I've known landlords who had horrible experiences with tenants who had high income and were well vetted- including one who payed rent that was thousands a month and left the property trashed with 10's of thousands in damage. I've seen low income tenants who were awesome and others who trashed the property. And everything in between.

As a landlord you know it can be a crap shoot who is a good tenant. If you don't want to rent to this woman that's fine but please don't base it on some comments here that are off base (I really cringed at the 'she is lying or it 'wasn't that bad' one). I hope you find a great tenant!

Last edited by Cat5e; 05-16-2017 at 09:03 AM..
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Old 05-16-2017, 09:22 AM
 
539 posts, read 564,109 times
Reputation: 976
Quote:
Originally Posted by WorldKlas View Post
So, not really hearing from anyone regarding experiences renting to tenants with unsupervised teens in the house after school.......
I'd been left on my own by 3rd grade, so what, age 8, in a crappy city outside detroit, taking care of my food, the animals, my homework, the security alarms, the light housekeeping like sweeping the floors and washing the countertops. By 5th grade, when summer time came, I had to take care of the house by myself. My parents HAD to work. They didn't have a choice if they wanted to keep a house. I was found responsible and somewhat self sufficient by age 8, then having full seasons of being left alone. Your income requirement wouldn't be possible if people didn't work.

A teenager, maybe 16, who could get a job on his own and maybe help his mom with everything she's been through so she doesn't HAVE to work like a dog to give them everything on one income after being in a horrible situation.

Where I live now, I have a 4 year old, and to put her through daycare (which is impossible because I don't work 9-5 shift I work 2nd shift and no one offers that) that would cost MORE than my job itself.

A teenager can take care of other children, they don't need to be supervised. If you're telling me you weren't allowed by yourself as a teenager, you HAD to have a babysitter at 16, then either you or your parents had some serious issues that weren't "normal" because unless a family could afford a stay at home parent or a darn nanny, everyone was home alone after school.

I know a 16 year old now whose mom goes on vacations with her new boyfriend and leaves the 16 year old with her 11 year old twin siblings to care for. She doesn't go buckwild. She's very responsible. That's not normal and not really good parenting at this point but she doesn't do crazy things. Honor student girl who plans on duel enrolling next year who has two jobs she works at.
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Old 05-16-2017, 09:24 AM
 
Location: North Idaho
32,565 posts, read 47,740,591 times
Reputation: 78078
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrRational View Post
This 3:60 ratio implies that either you have really weak advertising .......
or you're asking for too much in rent for that neighborhood --even in a tight market..........
No, all it probably means is that the rental market is really tight. Nobody has to take the losers, so the loser tenants are calling on and applying for every rental that comes available, whether they qualify or not or whether they can afford it or not. Many of them are hoping they can trick a landlord into believing their lies or else they hope that the landlord won't really do any screening.

The ad means very little, because 99% of the applicants will not read the ad at all. If they did, they would not be calling to ask how many bedrooms or how much the rent is. The smokers wouldn't be showing up to apply and then be surprised that it is a no smoking property..

OP, I suggest that you find some other way to disqualify her. You can't discriminate against children, which means you can't reject for the teenager. In many states, you are not allowed to discriminate against battered women, so you can't reject her, just because you know that the abusive husband will be around to punch holes in your walls, or that it is very likely that the husband is going to move in later. Most likely, he isn't on the application because there is something in his record to screen him out.

I suggest that you have a very thorough written criteria with a lot of legal reasons you can screen applicants out. You need to find a legal reason to reject her.

I'd be very unlikely to accept her, but I'd find a legal reason to reject her and I'd keep a record of why I rejected her.

Cross your fingers and hope that someone better qualified shows up soon. You can always reject her because you have rented to someone more qualified.
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