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?
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?
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