Renters?

[seaurchin]

I came into possession of a small, cheapest-place-in-town type home that I decided to try renting out. It's not going so well. I've only gotten one solid applicant, out of a couple dozen.

It's not just that the other applicants seem to not have much money or have a spotty record in one or more ways. It's also the low amount of effort they seem to put into filling out the application. I mean, I might take a chance on someone if that perfect-ish applicant falls through, but I'd have to see some kind of reason to take on the risk.

My ad says three people maximum and no pets (since it's a small place, and it also has new carpeting).

A couple of the applications say they have 4-5 people and a big dog. They don't even include a note that the dog is well behaved or other mitigating factors.

Others list that two or three adults will live there, but then just leave the co-applicant spaces blank. Who would hand over the keys to their property with no idea who all they were handing them over to?

Or they list a job that pays not much more than the rent is, or no job at all, or no info. about where they currently live.

Or they lie. For ex., one said her husband has no rent or job history because he's a recent immigrant. But a quick google search showed that he's been here for at least a decade.

Maybe they think not including info. is better than including negative info? Or do they really lack the skills to be able to fill out an application very well? Or maybe they just take a stab at it but don't even expect it to go anywhere. I don't know what to think but it is kind of depressing. Just hoping my one solid applicant will take it.

Thoughts? Stories? Wisdom?

 

[lulu_ma]

I manage a couple of houses for my parents and finding tenants is annoying tbh. How are you advertising?

 

[missy]

My dad sold the building his office was in decades and decades ago. Because he found being a landlord to be a royal pain in the you know what. Yes you can make a good profit. But for some (including my dad and my dh and I) it is not worth the aggravation. Especially if you live in a state where you cannot even evict those who do not pay their rent. Not worth the headache for us

 

[tyty333]

My dad sold the building his office was in decades and decades ago. Because he found being a landlord to be a royal pain in the you know what. Yes you can make a good profit. But for some (including my dad and my dh and I) it is not worth the aggravation. Especially if you live in a state where you cannot even evict those who do not pay their rent. Not worth the headache for us

Its a shame when the "renters" have more rights than the owners. I think we need rental reform. There needs to be some
protection but from what I've seen its way too slanted towards the "renters".

(renters is in quotes because I'm speaking of the ones that arent paying rent)

 

[Rfisher]

Yeah - @seaurchin
I hope you have a lawyer or advisor that you’ve spoken to about all the legal ins and outs of what being a landlord can entail in your specific locale.

My vote on your question goes to both applicants lacking the skill - and being very well skilled at how they are filling out your forms.

Best wishes.

 

[nala]

I think it was Warren Buffet who said that rental property is not a passive investment—it is actually a business. I am not the type of person who likes to rely on others for payment nor am I the type of person who likes to share my stuff, lol. I also have trouble dealing with people’s bs, so being the owner of a rental is not for me. I suspect finding the right renter will be the first of many hurdles. Make sure the risk and effort is worth your peace of mind.

 

[VRBeauty]

The house I own and lived in for decades is next to an old Victorian that’s been broken up into three units. The owner lived on the largest unit for several years with his family, so I know him fairly well. One of his sons now lives in the mid-sized unit.

The owner is incredibly picky about who he’ll rent to - even the largest apartment has sat empty for months at a time until the owner has determined that he’s found the right tenants. And he’s rarely wrong - only once in forty years has he had tenants that I considered to be bad neighbors (I have no idea how they did about paying the rent), and there was one other couple that I suspect were not great about paying the rent. His renters tend to stay a long time even though the apartments are not the cheapest and I know the owner is a cheapskate when it comes to maintenance.
I’m not sure exactly what his magic formula for selecting good tenants is - but it seems to include a good deal of patience!

I’d agree with @Rfisher re being sure that you know the law regarding landlord/tenant rights in your state. I live in California, which puts out at least one publication on the subject (https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/California-Tenants-Guide.pdf) though I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more. Of course the city/county of San Francisco has its own tenant protection laws, and I’m sure several other cities do too.

I’m now living with my husband, who has two rental units on his property, plus a trailer that’s currently occupied by family members whose “rent” consists of their share of the utilities. So it’s as if we have three rental units housing five extra adults on the property. There are some benefits to having other people live on our property even aside from the income, but there are also aggravations. I would not have chosen to be a landlord, and I’m glad that my husband does pretty much all of the “landlording” on our property.

 

[Lookinagain]

I think being a landlord, particularly a residential landlord, is full of pitfalls. As others have noted, finding the right tenants is hard, but it is the key to success. It's not just about paying the rent or not destroying property. It's also about the PIA tenants who will call their landlord in the middle of the night because something has broken, or the sink is backed up, etc. instead of waiting until morning. My family owned commercial rental property for many years and those are generally easier to deal with than residential. I've totally stayed away from owning any residential property to rent out, although my sister owns a few. Her success has hinged on only renting to people she knows, or to people one of her good friends knows and can give a positive recommendation to.

 

[tyty333]

I have a friend with rental properties. He selectively advertises the rentals on a few websites that belong to big businesses in our
area that employ many professionals (they also tend to get paid well). It's not perfect but I think it helps to cut down on the unqualified.

 

[seaurchin]

Thanks for the replies so far, everyone. Interesting discussion.

I did rent out another house years ago and it went wonderfully. It was also situational, not from starting out wanting to be a landlord. I think it is ALL in getting the right renter, with a good rental/job history and good credit score.

But this one is a low cost property that most people with that solid standing are probably not in the market for. And if someone who doesn't have much money or a solid reputation to guard did totally destroy the place and refuse to pay the rent, what can you really do about it? All the risk is mine since you can't squeeze blood from a turnip.

I think I'll go through with the rental for now if the solid applicant wants it and otherwise just sell it. I'd rather have inherited a nice diamond lol.

On a different note, it's been so long since I had to scramble for the basics myself that I forgot how hard it is for so many people to get by. Two dozen individuals/families all trying for the cheapest rental in town and not qualifying for it, yikes.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
I suggest you apply to HUD to get subsidized housing for senior citizens. A senior is usually less trouble and you will be able to collect the rent more easily. Advertise in senior publications in your area. If you go Hud subsidy for the rest of the population ask for a single mother with child. You can periodically inspect the apartment and if you must evict Hud is there to guide you.
The key to renting out is finding the right tenant. Don't give in to pets. Renters don't care about your property.

Good Luck

Annette

 

[LilAlex]

I see the flip side. One DD and her BF were looking for a rental for quite some time in a Mountain West locale. I would have thought that they would be perfect tenants -- clean, solvent, affable. They got rejected at plenty of places. It is a complete wildcard.

One DS has been looking for a rental in a giant Midwest city. All the new rental stock is private-equity-owned new construction towers with sky-high rents and all the rest were garbage. He had to look at buying a condo as the cost-effective option (!). At his previous rental -- a condo -- the do-nothing off-site "property manager" insisted on his paying another finder's fee (extra month's rent) just to renew the lease and cited "comparables" that were all larger and cost less to rent (?!). He said no to the bogus fee and the overseas owner sided with him so he got to stay for another year.

It sucks to rent now. Not like "back in the day" when you could drive into town, pick up the paper, and meet with the actual property owners () and have some rapport. Now it is like every other financial instrument -- all private equity and greedy volume-based property managers who just "take a cut" of every transaction in exchange for providing nothing.

 

[Slickk]

As a very young adult I remember my parents being landlords. It seemed to never be easy or go well. In fact, a couple incidents we’re downright scary. I swore I’d never be a landlord.
My DD is currently looking again for an apartment in NYC because her rent has skyrocketed 40% over the past two years!! It’s shockingly challenging if you want a safe, doorman neighborhood/building on a single income and with no roommate.
My DS and his wife, on the other hand, are looking to purchase something in the northern NYC suburbs and the prices are eye watering, along with the interest rates. Just SMH … so sad what these kids have to spend.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

Coming from the perspective of a long term (10+ years same unit) renter, it's a give and a take. We stay BC our rent has barely increased since we first rented (from $1500-1600), we are also mutually respectful of the agreement and don't "bother" our landlords unless it's major. We've upgraded the flooring, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, do the landscaping, etc. IMO it's a tradeoff often. They keep the rent low, we don't bother them or give them any reason to not renew our lease. It can be very tricky, I would NOT want to be a landlord in most circumstances.

 

[seaurchin]

My one solid applicant found something else so now I’m sifting through the others (30 now) one more time.

When I was young, I had the same struggles so I know it’s hard.

A lot of my applications are for 2-3 unrelated or unmarried people who only make enough income for the place together. I hesitate because those can be very unstable bonds and I live a long way from this place. So it would cost me a lot to have to come out and straighten out any messes.

We are halfway thinking of moving to this area though, which is the only reason we haven’t sold it already.

And I’m sure some of the applicants would be just fine anyway but I can’t tell who, when I don’t know them. My google searches have found more than one “reference” who is really their mom or dad lol.

So I’m pretty much just going by credit scores but trying to narrow it down first since I have to pay for the credit checks.

 

[LilAlex]

A lot of my applicants are for 2-3 unrelated or unmarried people who only make enough income for the place together.

This was me. This was my spouse. This is all my kids now. All great tenants. It's super-expensive to rent. People who rent don't have the two-income bump. They pool their resources. I do not think this is a red flag at all. But I would want to meet the people and hear their story. Yes, they mix-and-match -- but they self-select better roommates than you can. For one daughter, her house has been all folks who met through the same (iffy) employer. It's an exciting and stressful job with a lot of turnover. It is not showroom-furnished but it's a warm home.

I know of properties that have always rented to medical residents. Busy, quiet, seldom home. They depend on the current tenants to screen the new ones...

 

[missy]

As a very young adult I remember my parents being landlords. It seemed to never be easy or go well. In fact, a couple incidents we’re downright scary. I swore I’d never be a landlord.
My DD is currently looking again for an apartment in NYC because her rent has skyrocketed 40% over the past two years!! It’s shockingly challenging if you want a safe, doorman neighborhood/building on a single income and with no roommate.
My DS and his wife, on the other hand, are looking to purchase something in the northern NYC suburbs and the prices are eye watering, along with the interest rates. Just SMH … so sad what these kids have to spend.

Unfortunately rent has gone up quite a bit in NYC. It is very hard to rent there for anyone who does not have a lot of disposable income (including young professionals just starting out).

For example, in NYC, a studio apartment rents for a median price of $3,190, up 16% from last year.
A one-bedroom apartment had a median rent of $4,150, up 9.6% from last year, while a two-bedroom apartment had a median rent of $5,680, up 18.3% from a year ago.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/13/homes/manhattan-rentals-march/index.html#:~:text=A%20studio%20apartment%20rents%20for,and%20CEO%20of%20Miller%20Samuel.

 

[seaurchin]

I have another solid applicant who wants to see the place. Yay!

I decided to follow up with the ones who left blanks or gave vague answers on the applications, unless they were already completely off our list for one reason or another. Why not, right?

The answers I've gotten back so far mostly seem like more hedging or else info. that is not good and a couple included some attitude too lol.

I don't consider any info I get that solid anyway since people can always have friends or family say they're the applicant's boss or landlord anyway so I'm mostly just focusing on the credit score. I just want to find out which ones I should request credit scores on because I have to pay for them.

 

[MMtwo]

If folks come see the property, can you walk them to the car and make sure their cars are not trashed?

I would discard an application that was so careless. I would assume the property would be treated the same way.

Have you looked into a management company to take this on? Where I am, this is a 10% fee, but then again you would not have to worry so much and they will certainly vet the renter.

 

[seaurchin]

I got one! Excellent credit check, etc. All done and keys handed over (and fingers crossed). Thanks, all. Lots to think about here.

 

[MMtwo]

Great news!!!!!