Can I ask rental applicants old landlord if he paid rent ontime? legal?

[birmingplumb]

Guy gave his present landlord name address. Guy had bankruptcy 2 yrs ago. Guy omitted landlord reference letter (required on application). Claimed thru his realtor landlord was on cruise. 5 days later I receive a copy of a letter from someone other than landlord- says the Guy is clean, pays rent on time always, then gives his phone number and signs his name, and prints it and puts “property manager” at bottom. No letterhead. I end up google landlord. His wife answers, “no we were never on a cruise, yes he is 3 weeks late every month and we are just tired of renting and asked him to move so we can sell house.” She was shocked when I told her about the cruise and the letter from “property manager”
My wife said to make sure that the law allows me to inquire about this Guy legally, from the old landlord. Can I ask? I think so, as he did give credit report and list landlord in app and i am the person asked to lease a 300k asset to him for 2 years based on info he provides. I have a call in to realtor. Should I tell realtor what i learned? Should I sue somebody and file a police report for fraud? (realtor should screen for 2k commission no?) Realtor submitted false documents, maybe quit showing.) Help needed in motown-please

[Coronita]

I stopped reading after you said guy had bankruptcy 2 yrs ago and guy omitted landlord reference.

That is enough for me to move on and reject this prospective tenant.

But if you want to proceed, as part of the lease application you sent to the person, it should have indicated you will check past landlord history in determining if the person paid on time and verify tenant duration,etc.

But again, bankruptcy in 2 years would make me reject the prospective.

[PCinSD]

I wouldn’t be so worried about the BK, as I would about him being dishonest.

BK’s are becoming more common. More importantly: what is his verifiable income, has he ever been evicted, what is his current rent and is he paying every month. You know that it will be many years before he can file BK again. There are plenty of people out there that are good rental prospects that have a BK in their history. Many of them will be good tenants.

Yes, you can ask the previous landlord if they paid rent on time.

[birmingplumb]

Guy is mail carrier 16 yrs, 52k per year 58k with overtime, wife just got full time at 28k as per letter from employer. I can ask my “tom cruise” lawyer to draft a special lease tailored to this Guy. He was late 3 weeks all the time @1900 per month but did pay up with late fee according to landlords wife. But it is the deceitfulness that I find here that leads me to keep quiet about what I found out and insist on a letter signed by the owner. Then , if it is true that he was late, they should go away quietly or they could send the new letter. They won’t due to wife of owner statement on always late. The wild card is the human element, we have his innocent 15 year old daughter probably attending high school in a safe upscale (Detroit Lions, Pistons , ect live nearby )North suburban neighborhood and the Dad is pulling out all stops to ensure it happens even fraud. I am asking 2.2k and they offered 2k subject approval. My heart wants to help but my mind and helpers here seem to say move on. I will also pray about this and wait until tomorrow. God bless this forum and it’s members. Motown

[bearishgurl]

[quote=birmingplumb]Guy is mail carrier 16 yrs, 52k per year 58k with overtime, wife just got full time at 28k as per letter from employer. I can ask my “tom cruise” lawyer to draft a special lease tailored to this Guy. He was late 3 weeks all the time @1900 per month but did pay up with late fee according to landlords wife. But it is the deceitfulness that I find here that leads me to keep quiet about what I found out and insist on a letter signed by the owner. Then , if it is true that he was late, they should go away quietly or they could send the new letter. They won’t due to wife of owner statement on always late. The wild card is the human element, we have his innocent 15 year old daughter probably attending high school in a safe upscale (Detroit Lions, Pistons , ect live nearby )North suburban neighborhood and the Dad is pulling out all stops to ensure it happens even fraud. I am asking 2.2k and they offered 2k subject approval. My heart wants to help but my mind and helpers here seem to say move on. I will also pray about this and wait until tomorrow. God bless this forum and it’s members. Motown[/quote]

birmingplumb, having seen this piece this morning when I logged in, I understand your situation:

http://realestate.yahoo.com/news/america-s-emptiest-cities–2012.html

The Detroit area is apparently the “4th emptiest city” in the US with a 16.9% rental vacancy rate.

My advice is still don’t let your heart rule your head. I would take a pass on this applicant simply because three weeks late is simply TOO LATE if you have a mortgage to pay on the property. Receiving rent this late will undoubtedly cause YOU late charges and dings to your credit. Even if you own the property free and clear, receiving the rent this late every month would be a tremendous hassle that I wouldn’t put up with. Now that all this couple’s consumer debt is wiped clean, you have to ask yourself why they STILL haven’t been able to make rent on time. Are they accumulating MORE debt (that they won’t be able to “discharge” this time)?

Don’t feel sorry for the daughter. I realize many parents will do ANYTHING to get their kid enrolled in their “school of choice.” It is commonplace in SD County for parents (ESP those who live in MX) to use the addresses of friends, relatives, current vacant REO’s, comm’l properties and even longtime boarded-up residences for school-attendance purposes! Is this fraud? Yes, but the districts don’t have the resources to check. It’s really not your problem. No matter where their daughter goes to HS, she will graduate and get accepted into college if she is a good student.

Ask for the letter from the legitimate fmr landlord like you mentioned and when your prospective tenant produces it (or decides not to because they don’t like what it says), you can then turn him down on that basis. Then he will have no cause for filing a discrimination complaint. Meanwhile, keep advertising for a tenant. If the local school(s) are as good as you say they are, you will get a better applicant soon, likely before school starts.

btw: $86K gross income for this hshld is likely $66K net. You are asking $24K to $26,400 annually in rent which is 36% – 40% of their net income, not incl utils. Your rental might be too expensive for them, considering they still have to pay for heat in winter, etc. Remember that they don’t have any assets so likely have few tax deductions to take.

[spdrun]

Ask for their last – not current – landlord. The current landlord might say anything just to have them get out and MOVE already.

[Anonymous]

If you really are in Motown then you are asking about MI law – keep in mind most everyone here is in CA.

(Although I’d be really surprised if there was a law anywhere that prevented you from performing basic diligence on a prospective tenant.)

The guy didn’t just tell a fib, he forged a letter. He’s a fraud.

I would wait for someone else that checks out better, even if you have to lower the rent.

[birmingplumb]

Just called realtor. Told him story. Told him without letter – no deal-period. Then he asked if I take dogs because he has had other calls. God bless all here. Motown
p.s There are still properties in north suburbs for sale sfr for 40 to 50k that are great blue ribbon schools and rent for 1000-1250 per month. Type in “Lake Orion Mi, to see geographic area.

[Coronita]

[quote=birmingplumb]Just called realtor. Told him story. Told him without letter – no deal-period. Then he asked if I take dogs because he has had other calls. God bless all here. Motown
p.s There are still properties in north suburbs for sale sfr for 40 to 50k that are great blue ribbon schools and rent for 1000-1250 per month. Type in “Lake Orion Mi, to see geographic area.[/quote]

What’s your feeling about dogs? Make sure the dog is small. Because if the prospect has a pitbull or something similar, it becomes a liability issue….

[Coronita]

[quote=birmingplumb]Guy is mail carrier 16 yrs, 52k per year 58k with overtime, wife just got full time at 28k as per letter from employer. I can ask my “tom cruise” lawyer to draft a special lease tailored to this Guy. He was late 3 weeks all the time @1900 per month but did pay up with late fee according to landlords wife. But it is the deceitfulness that I find here that leads me to keep quiet about what I found out and insist on a letter signed by the owner. Then , if it is true that he was late, they should go away quietly or they could send the new letter. They won’t due to wife of owner statement on always late. The wild card is the human element, we have his innocent 15 year old daughter probably attending high school in a safe upscale (Detroit Lions, Pistons , ect live nearby )North suburban neighborhood and the Dad is pulling out all stops to ensure it happens even fraud. I am asking 2.2k and they offered 2k subject approval. My heart wants to help but my mind and helpers here seem to say move on. I will also pray about this and wait until tomorrow. God bless this forum and it’s members. Motown[/quote]

Like I said. pass… unless you are really having a tough time finding tenants…Personally, I’d rather rent to someone that is less sketchy for $1850
Wow..

[bearishgurl]

[quote=birmingplumb] . . . p.s There are still properties in north suburbs for sale sfr for 40 to 50k that are great blue ribbon schools and rent for 1000-1250 per month. Type in “Lake Orion Mi, to see geographic area.[/quote]

This might sound awesome to Piggs looking for cash flow, even if they have to hire a local property mgr. The high-vacancy rate of the overall area is troubling, though, and could a HUGE dent in annual cash flow. Perhaps some micro-areas have less rental vacancies than others.

[Coronita]

delete

[Coronita]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=birmingplumb] . . . p.s There are still properties in north suburbs for sale sfr for 40 to 50k that are great blue ribbon schools and rent for 1000-1250 per month. Type in “Lake Orion Mi, to see geographic area.[/quote]

This might sound awesome to Piggs looking for cash flow, even if they have to hire a local property mgr. The high-vacancy rate of the overall area is troubling, though, and could a HUGE dent in annual cash flow. Perhaps some micro-areas have less rental vacancies than others.[/quote]

.I think we get it. No need to beat this point to death.. I think OP is asking for opinion on tenant.. I don’t think he/she is asking for a lesson on the rentability of homes in Detroit, and I don’t think constantly emphasizing in your opinion how difficult it is to rent in Detroit is really helping this specific OP nor would necessarily reflect the OP’s situation. The OP indicated he/she wanted an opinion on a specific tenant, and didn’t necessarily suggest that he/she had limited options of tenants..From the sounds of things he/she has prospect tenants but is trying to cull them. Normal situation… It sounds like OP is relatively new, so is just asking for opinions on subject matter this specific tenant.

[Hatfield]

The Nolo Press Landlord Guide is the best $30 you will ever write off on your Schedule E. Among other things, it tells you exactly what kinds of questions you can and can’t ask when screening tenants. In response to your specific question, in California anyway, yes you can ask a previous landlord whether the rent was paid on time, and whether they would rent to this person again.

If they don’t give me valid contact info for the last two landlords, the application goes in the shredder. If they don’t list enough non-related personal and job references, the application goes in the shredder. If the credit report shows a history of late credit card payments, the application process stops there. There is a percentage of people who just can’t get their shit together. These are not the people you want living in a house that you own. I’d rather let it sit vacant for another month and find a reliable tenant.

In this example, as soon as I caught the applicant in a lie or a significant misrepresentation, they’re toast. What other lies or excuses will they give you in the future when the rent is overdue? Life’s too short to play these games.

[sdrealtor]

Without reading the post i think we officially have The LETDLITA of all LETDLITA’s!

[Author]

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