Rental application and lease??? Advice needed

[poorgradstudent]

I don’t actually have a lot to add except the rental market moves *really* fast. It amazes me that in a world where you normally have to give 30 days notice I regularly see apartments put up for rent signs and people moving in less than 2 weeks later. Most property management companies are looking for someone to move in *right now*, not in 2 weeks or 30 days. It’s tough to avoid at least some double-rent overlap when moving.

[Hatfield]

Here’s one: applicant was moving from Arizona. She listed prior apartment management company’s manager, but the company was now defunct. Googled and found out, yep, management company in fact was defunct. But the manager had an unusual (Polish, I think) name, so I Googled her and found her phone number. Rang her up, explained who I was and why I was calling. Again, the Nolo press book explains what questions you can and cannot ask. You can ask whether they remember the tenant, the length of the tenancy and how much the rent was, whether the rent was paid on time, whether they gave proper notice, whether they left the place in reasonable condition, whether they’d rent to that tenant again, etc.

So here we go. “Do you remember X?” I ask. “Oh yes, I remember her!”

“Can you tell me what the rent was?” “Intermittent,” she said. (I actually meant the *amount* of the rent. This was a much better answer, though!) “Excuse me?” I said. “The rent, it was kind of intermittent.”

“I see. Well, let me ask you this then. Would you rent to this tenant again?” She said: “I’m sorry, I’m not going to answer that, I think I’ve said too much already.”

I said, no, thank you very much, you’ve told me exactly what I needed to know and I really appreciate your doing that for me.

I’ve also had tenants list their mom as a landlord reference. Give me a break, whose mom is going to say anything bad about them.

So far (knock on wood), I’ve been very lucky with tenants, but part of that I think is a result of screening very carefully.

[Hatfield]

Here’s one: applicant was moving from Arizona. She listed prior apartment management company’s manager, but the company was now defunct. Googled and found out, yep, management company in fact was defunct. But the manager had an unusual (Polish, I think) name, so I Googled her and found her phone number. Rang her up, explained who I was and why I was calling. Again, the Nolo press book explains what questions you can and cannot ask. You can ask whether they remember the tenant, the length of the tenancy and how much the rent was, whether the rent was paid on time, whether they gave proper notice, whether they left the place in reasonable condition, whether they’d rent to that tenant again, etc.

So here we go. “Do you remember X?” I ask. “Oh yes, I remember her!”

“Can you tell me what the rent was?” “Intermittent,” she said. (I actually meant the *amount* of the rent. This was a much better answer, though!) “Excuse me?” I said. “The rent, it was kind of intermittent.”

“I see. Well, let me ask you this then. Would you rent to this tenant again?” She said: “I’m sorry, I’m not going to answer that, I think I’ve said too much already.”

I said, no, thank you very much, you’ve told me exactly what I needed to know and I really appreciate your doing that for me.

I’ve also had tenants list their mom as a landlord reference. Give me a break, whose mom is going to say anything bad about them.

So far (knock on wood), I’ve been very lucky with tenants, but part of that I think is a result of screening very carefully.

[Hatfield]

Here’s one: applicant was moving from Arizona. She listed prior apartment management company’s manager, but the company was now defunct. Googled and found out, yep, management company in fact was defunct. But the manager had an unusual (Polish, I think) name, so I Googled her and found her phone number. Rang her up, explained who I was and why I was calling. Again, the Nolo press book explains what questions you can and cannot ask. You can ask whether they remember the tenant, the length of the tenancy and how much the rent was, whether the rent was paid on time, whether they gave proper notice, whether they left the place in reasonable condition, whether they’d rent to that tenant again, etc.

So here we go. “Do you remember X?” I ask. “Oh yes, I remember her!”

“Can you tell me what the rent was?” “Intermittent,” she said. (I actually meant the *amount* of the rent. This was a much better answer, though!) “Excuse me?” I said. “The rent, it was kind of intermittent.”

“I see. Well, let me ask you this then. Would you rent to this tenant again?” She said: “I’m sorry, I’m not going to answer that, I think I’ve said too much already.”

I said, no, thank you very much, you’ve told me exactly what I needed to know and I really appreciate your doing that for me.

I’ve also had tenants list their mom as a landlord reference. Give me a break, whose mom is going to say anything bad about them.

So far (knock on wood), I’ve been very lucky with tenants, but part of that I think is a result of screening very carefully.

[Hatfield]

Here’s one: applicant was moving from Arizona. She listed prior apartment management company’s manager, but the company was now defunct. Googled and found out, yep, management company in fact was defunct. But the manager had an unusual (Polish, I think) name, so I Googled her and found her phone number. Rang her up, explained who I was and why I was calling. Again, the Nolo press book explains what questions you can and cannot ask. You can ask whether they remember the tenant, the length of the tenancy and how much the rent was, whether the rent was paid on time, whether they gave proper notice, whether they left the place in reasonable condition, whether they’d rent to that tenant again, etc.

So here we go. “Do you remember X?” I ask. “Oh yes, I remember her!”

“Can you tell me what the rent was?” “Intermittent,” she said. (I actually meant the *amount* of the rent. This was a much better answer, though!) “Excuse me?” I said. “The rent, it was kind of intermittent.”

“I see. Well, let me ask you this then. Would you rent to this tenant again?” She said: “I’m sorry, I’m not going to answer that, I think I’ve said too much already.”

I said, no, thank you very much, you’ve told me exactly what I needed to know and I really appreciate your doing that for me.

I’ve also had tenants list their mom as a landlord reference. Give me a break, whose mom is going to say anything bad about them.

So far (knock on wood), I’ve been very lucky with tenants, but part of that I think is a result of screening very carefully.

[Hatfield]

Here’s one: applicant was moving from Arizona. She listed prior apartment management company’s manager, but the company was now defunct. Googled and found out, yep, management company in fact was defunct. But the manager had an unusual (Polish, I think) name, so I Googled her and found her phone number. Rang her up, explained who I was and why I was calling. Again, the Nolo press book explains what questions you can and cannot ask. You can ask whether they remember the tenant, the length of the tenancy and how much the rent was, whether the rent was paid on time, whether they gave proper notice, whether they left the place in reasonable condition, whether they’d rent to that tenant again, etc.

So here we go. “Do you remember X?” I ask. “Oh yes, I remember her!”

“Can you tell me what the rent was?” “Intermittent,” she said. (I actually meant the *amount* of the rent. This was a much better answer, though!) “Excuse me?” I said. “The rent, it was kind of intermittent.”

“I see. Well, let me ask you this then. Would you rent to this tenant again?” She said: “I’m sorry, I’m not going to answer that, I think I’ve said too much already.”

I said, no, thank you very much, you’ve told me exactly what I needed to know and I really appreciate your doing that for me.

I’ve also had tenants list their mom as a landlord reference. Give me a break, whose mom is going to say anything bad about them.

So far (knock on wood), I’ve been very lucky with tenants, but part of that I think is a result of screening very carefully.

[Hobie]

The cop angle certainly makes you want to let your guard down. Especially with permitting a ‘police dog’.

Good job for smoking out the true person.

[Hobie]

The cop angle certainly makes you want to let your guard down. Especially with permitting a ‘police dog’.

Good job for smoking out the true person.

[Hobie]

The cop angle certainly makes you want to let your guard down. Especially with permitting a ‘police dog’.

Good job for smoking out the true person.

[Hobie]

The cop angle certainly makes you want to let your guard down. Especially with permitting a ‘police dog’.

Good job for smoking out the true person.

[Hobie]

The cop angle certainly makes you want to let your guard down. Especially with permitting a ‘police dog’.

Good job for smoking out the true person.

[4plexowner]

more fun with tenants

tenants seem to think their security deposit should cover the last month’s rent – it doesn’t seem to matter that they signed a legal contract specifically stating that this is NOT the case

one of the games the tenant will play is to make sure there isn’t enough money in the checking account to cover the last month’s rent check – long before you can collect on the bad check they will have moved out

some of the ways to prevent this situation:
– collect first and last month’s rent up front along with a security deposit (most people don’t have this much money available so you will severely limit your pool of potential tenants doing this)
– make the security deposit significantly more than one month’s rent – by at least $500 – this gives the tenant an incentive to pay the last month’s rent since they will lose the $500 otherwise

if you end up with a bad check from a tenant here’s a potential workaround: take the bad check to their bank and deposit enough cash into their account so the check will clear – if you can deposit $300 and cash a $1200 check you will be far better off than trying to get a judgment against the tenant – a collection agency will only give you half of what they collect IF they are successful at collecting

the bank won’t tell you specifically how much you have to deposit – you have to say something like, “if I deposit $300 will I be able to cash this check?”

most likely, by cashing the check you will cause the tenant to bounce a whole string of checks before they realize what has happened – at $15 to $45 per pop for bounced checks, their attempt to get over on the landlord becomes expensive quickly – I only had to do this a few times and each time it was young tenants (twenty-somethings)

~

on a related note, NEVER accept partial payment for rent or a security deposit – if the tenant doesn’t have full rent on the due date serve them with the three day pay or quit notice – if you accept partial rent you are stuck with them for at least another month and they may or may not ever pay the remaining balance – likewise with paying the security deposit in chunks – once you let a tenant move in they are in control of that property – what is your recourse if they choose to never pay the remaining balance?

[4plexowner]

more fun with tenants

tenants seem to think their security deposit should cover the last month’s rent – it doesn’t seem to matter that they signed a legal contract specifically stating that this is NOT the case

one of the games the tenant will play is to make sure there isn’t enough money in the checking account to cover the last month’s rent check – long before you can collect on the bad check they will have moved out

some of the ways to prevent this situation:
– collect first and last month’s rent up front along with a security deposit (most people don’t have this much money available so you will severely limit your pool of potential tenants doing this)
– make the security deposit significantly more than one month’s rent – by at least $500 – this gives the tenant an incentive to pay the last month’s rent since they will lose the $500 otherwise

if you end up with a bad check from a tenant here’s a potential workaround: take the bad check to their bank and deposit enough cash into their account so the check will clear – if you can deposit $300 and cash a $1200 check you will be far better off than trying to get a judgment against the tenant – a collection agency will only give you half of what they collect IF they are successful at collecting

the bank won’t tell you specifically how much you have to deposit – you have to say something like, “if I deposit $300 will I be able to cash this check?”

most likely, by cashing the check you will cause the tenant to bounce a whole string of checks before they realize what has happened – at $15 to $45 per pop for bounced checks, their attempt to get over on the landlord becomes expensive quickly – I only had to do this a few times and each time it was young tenants (twenty-somethings)

~

on a related note, NEVER accept partial payment for rent or a security deposit – if the tenant doesn’t have full rent on the due date serve them with the three day pay or quit notice – if you accept partial rent you are stuck with them for at least another month and they may or may not ever pay the remaining balance – likewise with paying the security deposit in chunks – once you let a tenant move in they are in control of that property – what is your recourse if they choose to never pay the remaining balance?

[4plexowner]

more fun with tenants

tenants seem to think their security deposit should cover the last month’s rent – it doesn’t seem to matter that they signed a legal contract specifically stating that this is NOT the case

one of the games the tenant will play is to make sure there isn’t enough money in the checking account to cover the last month’s rent check – long before you can collect on the bad check they will have moved out

some of the ways to prevent this situation:
– collect first and last month’s rent up front along with a security deposit (most people don’t have this much money available so you will severely limit your pool of potential tenants doing this)
– make the security deposit significantly more than one month’s rent – by at least $500 – this gives the tenant an incentive to pay the last month’s rent since they will lose the $500 otherwise

if you end up with a bad check from a tenant here’s a potential workaround: take the bad check to their bank and deposit enough cash into their account so the check will clear – if you can deposit $300 and cash a $1200 check you will be far better off than trying to get a judgment against the tenant – a collection agency will only give you half of what they collect IF they are successful at collecting

the bank won’t tell you specifically how much you have to deposit – you have to say something like, “if I deposit $300 will I be able to cash this check?”

most likely, by cashing the check you will cause the tenant to bounce a whole string of checks before they realize what has happened – at $15 to $45 per pop for bounced checks, their attempt to get over on the landlord becomes expensive quickly – I only had to do this a few times and each time it was young tenants (twenty-somethings)

~

on a related note, NEVER accept partial payment for rent or a security deposit – if the tenant doesn’t have full rent on the due date serve them with the three day pay or quit notice – if you accept partial rent you are stuck with them for at least another month and they may or may not ever pay the remaining balance – likewise with paying the security deposit in chunks – once you let a tenant move in they are in control of that property – what is your recourse if they choose to never pay the remaining balance?

[4plexowner]

more fun with tenants

tenants seem to think their security deposit should cover the last month’s rent – it doesn’t seem to matter that they signed a legal contract specifically stating that this is NOT the case

one of the games the tenant will play is to make sure there isn’t enough money in the checking account to cover the last month’s rent check – long before you can collect on the bad check they will have moved out

some of the ways to prevent this situation:
– collect first and last month’s rent up front along with a security deposit (most people don’t have this much money available so you will severely limit your pool of potential tenants doing this)
– make the security deposit significantly more than one month’s rent – by at least $500 – this gives the tenant an incentive to pay the last month’s rent since they will lose the $500 otherwise

if you end up with a bad check from a tenant here’s a potential workaround: take the bad check to their bank and deposit enough cash into their account so the check will clear – if you can deposit $300 and cash a $1200 check you will be far better off than trying to get a judgment against the tenant – a collection agency will only give you half of what they collect IF they are successful at collecting

the bank won’t tell you specifically how much you have to deposit – you have to say something like, “if I deposit $300 will I be able to cash this check?”

most likely, by cashing the check you will cause the tenant to bounce a whole string of checks before they realize what has happened – at $15 to $45 per pop for bounced checks, their attempt to get over on the landlord becomes expensive quickly – I only had to do this a few times and each time it was young tenants (twenty-somethings)

~

on a related note, NEVER accept partial payment for rent or a security deposit – if the tenant doesn’t have full rent on the due date serve them with the three day pay or quit notice – if you accept partial rent you are stuck with them for at least another month and they may or may not ever pay the remaining balance – likewise with paying the security deposit in chunks – once you let a tenant move in they are in control of that property – what is your recourse if they choose to never pay the remaining balance?

[Author]

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