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I think LL should show ID to people showing them homes to prove it's theirs. Who's to say a tenant is being evicted and pretends to be the super renting out the place and asks for a cash deposit and security.
I let the tenant pre-screen before showing. I give them my criteria, and if they still want to see the unit, I get an ID and a holding fee, at the time of application.
I think LL should show ID to people showing them homes to prove it's theirs. Who's to say a tenant is being evicted and pretends to be the super renting out the place and asks for a cash deposit and security.
A tenant can easily check, via the property records, who owns the property. An ID is worthless, as the LL likely doesn't live there.
I'm not a poor tenant, but I suggest that you not rent to anyone who can't follow simple directions. If they can't follow simple directions, they will be a difficult tenant.
There is no point in doing any pre-screening if the applicant can't, or refuses to, prove his identity.
My experience is that the majority of people who call me never follow through. I assume that they are looking for a landlord who won't check on them before renting and when they find out that I do check, they move on. On the phone, they will tell you that they easily qualify, but they know they can't prove it so they don't proceed with the application.
There is also a possibility that some of the applicants without government issued identification are not in the country legally. Mostly, though, they were hoping to find a landlord who won't check and find the felony, or the eviction, or the bad credit.
So......if you were a renter.....and someone gave you these “simple directions” ....would YOU follow the direction of sending basically a unknown voice over a phone talking from a number you got from a ad depicting a rental you have not actually seen, such personal information?
I’m betting you wouldn’t do that regardless of what you posted here.
I can prescreen without asking for ID initially.
I send the questionnaire. If I get it back completely filled out I call and I set up a time. Usually evenings or weekends. I usually like a hour for each appointment. I set up a block of appointments. Here is the address.
Now we meet and if you like the place etc we can move on to the actual paperwork where I find out if you lied.
If I don’t get the questionnaire back then the process stops with you and I move on. The questionnaire are basic questions. I dint care about your age, what you look like, who you sleep with.
Sorry were not talking about typical prescreening for credit, job, income. The guy is prescreening the “other things” about the person. A DL won’t tell you anything about the persons credit income or job. But it will tell you their age and what they look like and AFAIK a LL isn’t in the immigration enforcement business.
Last edited by Electrician4you; 03-23-2019 at 09:59 AM..
20 mins driving should not be a big deal... Don't sound like to me you can afford to be a LL. Maybe you should Sell.
BTW I Never been asked for an ID. Not even when buying a home.
Yeah...a 20 min drive is nothing! Cant imagine thinking its a big deal. As a renter, if my ll wouldnt drive 20 min to show property, i would doubt they would come by to fix something...
And no way eould i ask my prospects to send my a copy of their dl to show a place. Once they are signing app, i could see asking to see it, and writing lic # on app, or making a copy for my files, but not just to show it.
Our units are about 20 minutes away from where we live, and we don't want to make the drive to show, unless we think the person is at least marginally qualified to rent from us.
Do your pre-screening via email. Let the tenants self-screen, and you only verify. I get 100's of inquires when I have a vacancy, and I do not have time for 100, 5-minute phone calls. I return emails every evening, and can cut/paste/send one every few seconds. Everyone gets the same email, so all is fair.
Set up a showing window 3-4 days out, and pack as many as you can in that window, in 15-minute increments. I generally put in 5 showings each hour. It's possible to double-book one slot too, as there may be late people, or no-shows and cancellations. If you have a vacant property, you can be more flexible.
Here is my pre-screening letter. It eliminates 90% of the prospects, and I generally only have a few showings to do before it is re-rented. Typically within the first group of applicants. Once in a great while I get someone that wants to try and bend the criteria to fit them, I just pass on them. If they call or text first, I get their email address and send the same email to everyone.
All applicants must have a 625+ credit score, even any kids that are 18+ years old.
Quote:
Thank you for inquiring on insert address here
This unit will be available November 1st, 2018.
This is a three bedroom, one bath unit. It is a non-smoking building. It has a washer and dryer in the apartment and central air conditioning. There is a tandem garage, one car parks in front of the other. There are two flights of stairs to get into the unit. After that, it is all one level.
I will be looking for tenants with a 625+ credit score, and a solid household income of at least ~$51,000 per year. If you are marginal on both of these items, I will generally decline you. Your criminal and rental history must be clean. If you have had a foreclosure, I can work with you a bit on this.
I have a Real Estate license, so if you are preparing to buy a home, this is a perfect fit. If you purchase a home through me, I can make sure the lease transition is easy, and also give you up to $500 back at closing to help with your moving expenses or anything you want.
Pets are allowed, however no Akita, Chow, Pit-bull, Rottweiler, or any cross breed with wolf are allowed. A $25 fee per pet is a general rule of thumb.
If you do not support law enforcement, or our military, please look elsewhere for your housing needs.
I have tenants in the unit, so I need to give advance notice for showing. I generally show the unit on weekends between 11 AM and 4 PM and sometimes during the week between 6 PM and 7 PM. You will need to schedule an appointment first, and then confirm the appointment ~30 minutes before you arrive via text or call. If you do not confirm the appointment, it will be canceled.
I do not take Section 8. If you have had an eviction, or you have had recent criminal activity including DUIs, I generally will pass on you. If you are not a legal resident of the USA, I will not be able to rent to you, as I cannot perform a valid background check.
The rent price includes water, sewer, garbage, lawn maintenance and snow removal. It does not include gas or electric, which runs ~$125 per month. The deposit is $1,400.
If you are still interested and want to look at the apartment, please let me know. If a showing makes sense, a Google calendar invite will be sent for you to accept. You will have to make sure your calendar is on Central Standard Time (CST).
Additional Pictures with link to a virtual tour insert link here
Last edited by FIREin2016; 03-23-2019 at 02:11 PM..
Get over it. Meet the ones who pass your verbal inquiries.
And if they STILL want to rent from you and complete the application and all the rest
THEN you can ask for the whole range of documents that most LL's manage to get without drama.
But if the issue is that you actually care about NOT renting to illegals... then maybe it's time to sell.
My state is one of the states that will give drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants. And it's not illegal to rent to illegal immigrants - just illegal to employ them.
My state is one of the states that will give drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants. And it's not illegal to rent to illegal immigrants - just illegal to employ them.
I do not rent to illegals. It is impossible to do a background check on them, unless they steal quality credentials.
If I owned lesser quality buildings, I may consider it and go to an all-cash system.
Thanks for the feedback. Based upon our tenant population, no one could accuse us of racial or ethnic discrimination! And it's not discrimination to ask someone to identify themselves before showing them an apartment. It would be, if I refused to show on the basis of the ID. But I'm not - I am refusing to show on the basis of recent or ongoing evictions, or recent violent criminal record.
It's just that we've been scammed before by someone who came in with false identity and a falsified check. And multiple times, people have lied to us about past and current evictions, criminal records, etc. I really don't want to bother driving down there to show to someone who is obviously not qualified, or a household with a violent criminal. In this tenant population, it's very difficult to set up a single showing time. People often have several part time jobs strung together, and it's better to show in daylight, so its not as if I can set up a showing window from say 10-12 on Saturday, and expect people to make it then and only then.
But I was looking for feedback about this, and I've heard a clear and resounding, "No way am I texting a potential LL a picture of my license or ID!" I'll take that into account, when deciding whether to continue with this. Thanks everyone who weighed in.
A tenant can easily check, via the property records, who owns the property. An ID is worthless, as the LL likely doesn't live there.
A scammer would not hand over their ID. and if you say you can check who owns it how will the name not match on their driver's license?
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