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September 14, 2009
Choosing a Tenant?
We received three applications from three wonderful prospective tenants. We will be running a credit check, have previous landlord recommendations and basic info on all. They all seem "normal". We are having the hardest time decideding who to lease the apartment to. Any recommendations on the best method for selecting a tenant ?
Comments
well, you haven't run the credit checks yet. That may shake them out.
Posted by: denton at September 14, 2009 9:14 AM
we loved many of our applicants. which made it really hard, so to be fair went by who emailed first and then got in the application. We wound up with tenants who we really adore.
Posted by: brooklynjennie at September 14, 2009 9:25 AM
tlkaimal, why don't you advertise elsewhere?
Posted by: PHfamily at September 14, 2009 9:30 AM
Previous LL recomendations should be taken with a grain of salt - it is near impossible to get rid of a bad tenant in NYC Housing court - therefore a LL will often say anything to get a bad tenant out - including pawning them off on another LL.
Credit Check and job history is the most important criteria by FAR...past performance may not necessarily guarantee future results....but it is the closest your going to come.
Posted by: fsrg at September 14, 2009 10:06 AM
go with the ugliest tenant. hot people are high maintenance. im being serious btw.
*rob*
Posted by: Butterfly at September 14, 2009 10:08 AM
um, yeah, I think the credit check is your deciding factor, that should help, you'll be surprised how "not wonderful" someone is when you run their credit. The fact that your looking for answers without even running the credit is weird to me, I don't ever consider anyone "wonderful" until I see their credit and they're in my buildings for 6 months and I don't get complaints.
Posted by: IrieMan at September 14, 2009 10:27 AM
all else held equal, start with the one that contacted you first.
Posted by: CG_ups at September 14, 2009 10:27 AM
credit checks are massively overrated. usually people with the best credit make the worst (i.e. high maintenance) tenants.
*rob*
Posted by: Butterfly at September 14, 2009 10:31 AM
What you need is a handheld scanning device called a "Loony-o-meter." If the needle hits the red zone, you don't want 'em.
Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at September 14, 2009 10:59 AM
If only I had the Loony-o-meter when I was dating.
Posted by: mopar at September 14, 2009 11:29 AM
Rob - you clearly took your troll pill this morning....it is really annoying, turn it back a bit please
As someone who screens tenants all the time, credit report (including any LL/Tenant Ct issues) is the most critical factor. I have not found that people with good credit are "high maintainance" but even if so - I'd rather get paid than just about anything else - and if a reliably paying tenant wants to have repairs fixed, clean halls, etc....so be it - that is what they pay for.
Posted by: fsrg at September 14, 2009 11:35 AM
Do yourself a favor and don't stop at the credit check: also run a criminal check and a L/T litigation check. I once almost rented to a guy who had pay stubs, recommendations, and the best credit history of all the applicants. The criminal check revealed that the reason his credit was so good was that he hadn't had an opportunity to bounce a check for a long, long time; three months earlier he'd finished doing ten years for bank robbery. A L/T check can also alert you to situations in which a landlord may be giving you a bogus recommendation to unload an undesirable tenant. Just go to L/T court and search by name of the applicant. If they've litigated with prior landlords, it'll show up. Very much worth the time and effort.
Posted by: Despina at September 14, 2009 11:39 AM
If everything checks out for all three applicants I'll say first come first serve. That's what I do.
Posted by: nako at September 14, 2009 11:47 AM
wait, so people with good credit are high maintenece but they pay the rent right? Would you prefer to have tenants that are "wonderful", never complain, but don't pay the rent? I would rather have the rent paid then chase after tenants any day of the week, even if they insist on changing the light bulb for them.
Posted by: IrieMan at September 14, 2009 12:09 PM
i wasnt saying that at all. i was just saying that people with good or bad credit both pay their rent. 99 percent of people always pay their rent, it's the first thing they pay. whether they have good or bad credit. the problem tho is that people with stellar credit have a tendency to complain a lot and youll wind up with a high maintenance person living in your building.
*rob*
Posted by: Butterfly at September 14, 2009 12:23 PM
"99 percent of people always pay their rent, it's the first thing they pay."
I'm pretty sure my sister and brother-in-law buy cigarettes before paying the rent.
Posted by: northsloperenter at September 14, 2009 12:37 PM
Rob -99 percent of people always pay their rent, it's the first thing they pay."
You dont know what you are talking about!
99% of people pay the bill that will have the worst consequence for not paying....which is often the latest one, or the one where they'll cut you off (cell phone for example)....
Since in NYC it takes months to years and considerable expense to evict someone for non-payment - anyone who is not intimidated by late due notices (ie people who have received them before) will quickly realize that the rent check is the last one they need to write -
Posted by: fsrg at September 14, 2009 12:58 PM
Rob, where did you get that ridiculous number? so all those people tied up in landlord/tenant court for NOT paying rent only make up 1%? come on!! Half of my tenants don't pay in the 1st, they pay later. I'm sure they but their smokes first as well.
Posted by: IrieMan at September 14, 2009 1:05 PM
Make sure both are employed and check with their listed employers directly. At least if one of them loses his/her job, there is something to fall back on!
K
Posted by: HurricaneKate at September 14, 2009 2:56 PM
"go with the ugliest tenant. hot people are high maintenance. im being serious btw."
Obviously that's how Rob got his apt, the LL also took his advice about going with the tenant with the worst credit report.
Mopar, lol.
Posted by: denton at September 14, 2009 3:18 PM
yeah, and if they're short they probably have a Napoleon complex so make sure they're tall as well!! HA!
Posted by: IrieMan at September 14, 2009 4:16 PM
Lucky you to have three good tenants. Don't think about this until you get all the recommendations and checks. You'll know.
Posted by: donatella at September 14, 2009 7:19 PM
Landlord recommendations can be asked for from the previous 2 or 3 landlords. Agreed the present landlord may say anything to unload them on someone else, but the next to last landlord can tell the truth with no repercussions.
Posted by: tsarina at September 14, 2009 9:54 PM
PHFamily--how are you running the credit checks? as an individual landlord, i am running into a lot of trouble finding a way to actually do this! It used to be simple, but now there's a law in place preventing the credit companies from disclosing information to individuals. There are companies that will run them for you, but they have to collect all kinds of docmentation, and actually do a building visit (which they charge for!) if you want an actual credit report. I really do not know what to do, myself.
Posted by: greenpointhouse at September 15, 2009 5:19 PM
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