Screening tenants in Boston
June 20, 2011
I did promise an individual that I would consider her and her family for my vacant apartment but after meeting with the husband and explaining my rules and reg, the wife then turned around and sent me a letter thanking me for considering her & her family, but within that same letter were at least two red flags for me. My unit has a working Refrigerator which I told the husband that If I give them the apartment that the fridge works but if it goes bad that I am not replacing it and I will put it in the lease.
(1) In the wife’s letter to me she is asking me for (to hold the apartment until July’s end- which is August with half of the first month’s rent) time to buy a fridge. She also mentioned that she will give me the other half on the 1st, but she did not indicate which month (July or August).
(2) I said to the husband that I will only take one (1) month’s rent. The wife mentioned in her letter that “we can give you half to hole the unit and the other half on the 1st.” No month was indicated. This was my second red flag that they can not afford the apartment.
(3) The wife’s mom lives next door and paying more than what I am asking for rent and no utility is including plus she cannot do laundry there. The wife wants to know if I have any utilities including after I explained all that I could to the husband and yes giving them washing privilege.
(4) The next red flag for me was that the wife filled out an application that I had given them and said to them that I was going on vacation and when I returned I will talk to both of them about the apartment some more. ** On the application, she left out how much of a balance that they both owed on their credit cards or to debtors. She said “not sure” for both of them. The wife to me is very persistant, a bit pushy and kept sending me emails about the apartment even after I said I was going away and when I come back I will deal with the apartment issue(s).
After going over the letter several times and looking at the application incomplete, I decided to send them a denial letter telling them that I do not feel that they are financially capable to afford the apartment. Do you think that I did the right thing, and am I with my legal rights to go with my guts feelings?
Hazel, Boston, MA
I will also copy our local MA office, Real Property Management Charles River, so that they can give you further advice. Our local office can also help you by finding a new tenant and by performing a credit and criminal background check.
You are within your legal rights to reject an application based on ability to pay as long as you are consistent and hold all applicants to the same standard.
About the Author: Bob Cain
Some 30 years ago Bob Cain went to a no-money-down seminar and got the notion that owning rental property would be just the best idea there is for making money. He bought some. Trouble was, what he learned at the seminar didn’t tell him how to make money on his rental property. He went looking for help in the form of a magazine or newsletter about the business. He couldn't find any.
Always ready to jump at a great idea, he decided he could put his speaking and writing skills to work and perform a valuable service for other investors who needed more information about property management. So Bob ferreted out the secrets, tricks and techniques of property management wherever he found them; then he passed them along to other landlords.
For over 25 years now, Bob has been publishing information, giving speeches, putting on seminars and workshops, and consulting for landlords on how to buy, rent and manage property more effectively.