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I have been a Landlord sine 1988 and have consistently had my choice of applicants. We have never before had a rental house sit on the market for any period of time. But my latest property has been lingering since January. My requirements have not changed. But once I get an inquiry and respond back to confirm the inquirer meets the qualifications (as posted in the listing) they either respond that they don’t meet the credit, felony or other criteria and ask for an exception. So I will reply (example) “what is your credit score?” Or, “when was the felony?” And they don’t reply back.
This is a 4 bedroom home in single family community; walking distance to all grades of schools. Our rent is about 10% below market. We get about 3-6 inquires a day from the various sites we are listed (zillow, Realtor,com, Hotpads, etc.)
So here’s my response when I get an inquiry. Looking for feedback:
Please let us know if you meet these qualifications & we’ll be happy set up a time to meet so you can see the property.
*No felonies. *No smoking
*No roommates/subletting
*No evictions
*Minimum verifiable Annual Income 3x rent. No Section 8 or co-signers.
*Credit Score 620+
*Must be able to provide proof of paying last year's rent on time
*Pets must be over 18 months of age, neutered, up to date on vaccinations and live inside. No dog runs or dog houses allowed
“No roommates” might appear too restrictive for 3x rent as income. I have seen others write something like all persons over (age) must be identified and on the lease.
That way a couple or two friends together might afford it. You would of course have to decide how to handle one of them suddenly moving out during the lease period.
I have an 800 score and I can afford to buy your house for cash but I wouldn't qualify to rent from you. My income is from social security and my Pit Bull is neither neutered nor vaccinated. He wants a doggy door and a fully enclosed yard so he can come and go as he pleases.
I have an 800 score and I can afford to buy your house for cash but I wouldn't qualify to rent from you. My income is from social security and my Pit Bull is neither neutered nor vaccinated. He wants a doggy door and a fully enclosed yard so he can come and go as he pleases.
I don’t care what are sources of income or if income is from investment/savings interest plus SSI/SSN or pensions, just as long as it meets the income requirements. I’ve been a Landlord a LONG time….maybe longer than you are alive and I don’t know any other Landlord who rents a home out in a middleclass+ neighborhood to tenants with an unneutered pittbull who isn’t vaccinated.
I disagree that I am “too anal” when it comes to dogs. I actually have no breed restrictions if tenants are able to procure renters’ insurance to cover liability for their dogs. And i actually have no pet fees for dogs that are adopted from rescue groups or shelters!
I have been a Landlord sine 1988 and have consistently had my choice of applicants. We have never before had a rental house sit on the market for any period of time. But my latest property has been lingering since January. My requirements have not changed. But once I get an inquiry and respond back to confirm the inquirer meets the qualifications (as posted in the listing) they either respond that they don’t meet the credit, felony or other criteria and ask for an exception. So I will reply (example) “what is your credit score?” Or, “when was the felony?” And they don’t reply back.
This is a 4 bedroom home in single family community; walking distance to all grades of schools. Our rent is about 10% below market. We get about 3-6 inquires a day from the various sites we are listed (zillow, Realtor,com, Hotpads, etc.)
So here’s my response when I get an inquiry. Looking for feedback:
Please let us know if you meet these qualifications & we’ll be happy set up a time to meet so you can see the property.
*No felonies. *No smoking
*No roommates/subletting
*No evictions
*Minimum verifiable Annual Income 3x rent. No Section 8 or co-signers.
*Credit Score 620+
*Must be able to provide proof of paying last year's rent on time
*Pets must be over 18 months of age, neutered, up to date on vaccinations and live inside. No dog runs or dog houses allowed
You do not indicate location, but it is likely a number of issues are affecting the difficulty in renting.
As a 4 bedroom, your market is either families or roommates, and you are eliminating roommates. Families with school age children/teens tend to not move during the school year. Many families have had to deal with covid related issues for over two years, and many have not returned to "normalcy" with regard to finances or daily routines. Our market is still slower than pre-covid years, plus there are a lot of units that went vacant during that time that have not re-rented yet.
For roommate situations, although they are much more flexible as to when they move, again, returning to normalcy has been slow, and many are working more side hustles that are not well documented for income verification purposes. Single Professionals and students can both make very good tenants if you have adequate "House Rules" that are well communicated prior to commitments and consistently enforced after occupancy. You also need a clear process to add/remove individual tenants and the handling of Security Deposits (do nothing until all tenants vacate, then issue refund to the then current documented tenants only).
You need to make sure you are following local law with some of your criteria. Many locales do not allow you to reject felons, evictions, or subsidized programs such as Section 8. Ignoring local law and/or making "exceptions" is exactly what can get you into the middle of a Fair Housing complaint. You should also consider in addition to your apparent Pet policy, developing an Assistance Animal policy based on the latest guidance from HUD.
Actually, your credit score number is pretty low. Personally I could care less what the score is, I want to see what is contributing to making their score.
You do not indicate location, but it is likely a number of issues are affecting the difficulty in renting.
As a 4 bedroom, your market is either families or roommates, and you are eliminating roommates. Families with school age children/teens tend to not move during the school year. Many families have had to deal with covid related issues for over two years, and many have not returned to "normalcy" with regard to finances or daily routines. Our market is still slower than pre-covid years, plus there are a lot of units that went vacant during that time that have not re-rented yet.
For roommate situations, although they are much more flexible as to when they move, again, returning to normalcy has been slow, and many are working more side hustles that are not well documented for income verification purposes. Single Professionals and students can both make very good tenants if you have adequate "House Rules" that are well communicated prior to commitments and consistently enforced after occupancy. You also need a clear process to add/remove individual tenants and the handling of Security Deposits (do nothing until all tenants vacate, then issue refund to the then current documented tenants only).
You need to make sure you are following local law with some of your criteria. Many locales do not allow you to reject felons, evictions, or subsidized programs such as Section 8. Ignoring local law and/or making "exceptions" is exactly what can get you into the middle of a Fair Housing complaint. You should also consider in addition to your apparent Pet policy, developing an Assistance Animal policy based on the latest guidance from HUD.
Actually, your credit score number is pretty low. Personally I could care less what the score is, I want to see what is contributing to making their score.
thanks; house is in Tarrant County, Texas and we are in compliance with all ordinances. You do make a good point about roommates. But, having been down that road before, I think I’d rather let the house sit vacant than deal with roommate issues.
Requirements seem reasonable to me. A tenant has to be more qualified to get into a nice 4 bedroom house in a safe neighborhood with good schools than a tenant needs to qualify to rent an inexpensive 2 bedroom apartment in an old building is a so-so neighborhood.
All over the country, landlords are complaining about unqualified applicants. Lots of felons, lots of evictions, lots of really bad credit scores. Basically a whole bunch of people who don't feel any obligation to pay their bills or follow any rules. Scores of tenants who took advantage of the Covid rent moratorium are now being evicted and no landlord wants to accept them after they have stolen many thousands of dollars from their previous landlord and dug in and refused to move until the courts ordered them out and the sheriff came out to escort them off the property. Many of these applicants are seeing their past behavior catch up with them.
You just have to keep working at it, OP. It's better to have a vacant unit than it is to have a tenant who tears things up and refuses to pay the rent. Summer is coming when more people will be moving.
........but I wouldn't qualify to rent from you..........my Pit Bull is neither neutered nor vaccinated. He wants a doggy door and a fully enclosed yard so he can come and go as he pleases.
You would have a difficult time finding any landlord to rent to you with your unneutered, unvaccinated, pit bull. Very few landlords are going to allow you to cut holes in the walls or doors to install a dog door.
People with dogs that are banned by insurance companies and people who want dog doors, are advised to buy their own house so they can have their dog the way they want. You have said in the past that you own your own house? So it doesn't make any difference whether or not the OP would rent to you.
thanks; house is in Tarrant County, Texas and we are in compliance with all ordinances. You do make a good point about roommates. But, having been down that road before, I think I’d rather let the house sit vacant than deal with roommate issues.
Good points about Covid impact.
That's reasonable in many ways, but I'm curious to know how long you're willing to let the house be vacant? Surely, something has to give. Genuinely curious about your approach here as it is a reality for many. Some do have the luxury to let their properties sit vacant indefinitely, but others do not.
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