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ArchiMark
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Posted: Mon May 19th, 2008 03:30 am |
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Just a couple other points for you, Laurana....
As others implied, you have a bit more latitude with renting a single family house...but you still need to be careful to avoid discrimination based upon race, gender, familial status, disability etc....
As for income, actually it is not arbitrary to determine appropriate income needed to rent your home.
Typical rule of thumb is that the monthly rent should not exceed 25% of their monthly income in order to make sure that a tenant can afford to pay other typical expenses people have.
So, for example, if you're renting your house for $1,000/month, you need to verify that they have at least $4,000/month income so that they won't be strapped to pay rent and other bills. If they make less than the rule of thumb above, then you can legitimately decline to have them as tenants.
Also, don't let anyone badger you into giving them detailed explanations as to why they were not chosen as tenant. You'll likely say something that you might regret and give an unscrupulous litigious type person ammunition for a suit against you.
Don't know if this would work for you, but the way we handle renting our rental home, is to heavily advertise an open house on a weekend. We hold the open house on a Saturday and Sunday.
This way we usually get about 20-30 people/couples, etc coming through in a relatively short time. I think the advantage of this is that the prospective tenants, typically see other prospective tenants coming through and realize that they're not the only ones out there and often overhear us talking with someone and giving them an application.
We tell them that we are going to review the applications after the open house and select the tenant that we think is best suited for the house, after checking their credit and other information.
I think that this helps get you away from the situation that you had where one person comes along and says "OK, I want it, now rent it to me" and at that moment you don't have any other potential tenants to compare that person with.
Reminds me a bit of the same approach in job-hunting. Rather than focus on just one company and then wait to see what happens and then if it doesn't work out go to the next company, I think it's much better to research several companies you're interested in and approach them all at the same time. You increase your odds of getting an offer this way and you get a much better perspective on which company you'd want to work with after meeting with several, and if you're lucky you might have more than one offer to consider and then can choose which one you want and negotiate from a stronger position...
Anyway, hopefully, you get the idea....
Also, you should read up on the landlord-tenant laws in your state too...if you can't find them online, check with some housing agency, sometimes you can find a tenant's rights booklet....often I good idea to read what you're up against from that point of view and laws...forewarned is forearmed....
Hope this helps..
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OH landlord
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Posted: Thu May 15th, 2008 12:35 pm |
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You could even do a form letter so you just have to check the box and insert the applicant's name.
Dear Applicant,
Thank you for your interest in our property. I'm sorry, but your application for 123 Main Street was denied due to:
[ ]incomplete application [ ]poor rental references [ ]lack of rental history
[ ]does not meet income level [ ]family size exceeds occupancy limits
[ ]debt-income ratio too high [ ]false information provided
[ ]poor credit (see accompanying letter) [ ]unverifiable info (explain)___________
[ ]other ______________________________
If your situation changes, feel free to apply for any of our units in the future.
(These are just some examples off the top of my head why I've denied.) I don't normally send these at all, but I do have a form like this made up for some cases (like credit where you must notify them of the reason). My application states that incomplete applications will not be processed, and that (if selected) you will be notified in 72 hours.
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LandlordLaura
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Posted: Wed May 14th, 2008 11:29 pm |
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You may save yourself some trouble if you type something along the lines of "incomplete applications will not be considered or processed" on your applications for future reference. This may help weed out potential problems at the application stage. If you receive an incomplete application, send a letter stating that the application was incomplete and, therefore, could not be considered.
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OH landlord
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Posted: Wed May 14th, 2008 08:42 pm |
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| The Fair Housing Act says you can't discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. Vocation or employment is not a protected class (although source of income is in certain places so LLs can't discriminate in some areas against those on housing assistance programs). Failure to provide neded information is not a protected class. Jerks are not a protected class. As long as you can show that he doesn't meet your qualifications (income level, complete application, credit references, etc.) you can deny him. That bunk about not being allowed to ask for bank references is bull. (Sounds to me like he is trying to hide something.) I don't acccept any application that isn't completely filled out. I politely deny them and won't even screen them due to incomplete application.
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Yolanda
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Posted: Wed May 14th, 2008 03:51 pm |
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| Karenw is correct in that you can use it as a credit reference. At least in Texas, you can. A LL can call the bank and request a merchant credit reference to verify the person is in good standing. If this person does not want to comply, I would not lease to him. If you feel he is dictating and trying to intimidate you, he will continue to do so. He sounds like he will be an extremely difficult tenant questioning your every move. If he wants to move items in June, he must pay for June rent. Didn't you say you have a back-up tenant who wants to rent June 15?
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karenw
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Posted: Mon May 12th, 2008 08:21 pm |
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There are different laws generally for 1 - 4 unit rentals and apartment complexes. We always ask for bank info as this can also be considered a credit reference (do they have bounced checks?) If he won't provide it, then decline him for "unable to check credit". For a single family house, I think you can refuse to rent for any reason as long as you're not discriminating against a protected class.
If you are not discriminating, he can't prove that you are violating the law. It's better not to be stuck with a jerk for a tenant.
As for income limits, any landlord can put any limit they want to. It's your investment you are protecting. The key is to be fair and have the same guidelines for everyone that applies.
A local Realtor may have some good, free information for you.
good luck
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emilycr
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Posted: Mon May 12th, 2008 02:18 am |
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I was just looking up the same thing and here is what i found
http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/FHLaws/index.cfm
I do ask for bank name and type of account on my applications. I also tell applicants that they do not have to answer the questions they don't feel comfortable answering.
In the Fair Housing Laws it says that you cannot discriminate agains race, color, religion, family status, etc. I read somewhere that you can deny them if their income is too low. I am not sure what "too low" is but I think it may be different from state to state. I am also not sure if it is agains the law to deny them because of their criminal background......
Hope this helps.
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Laurana
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Posted: Sun May 11th, 2008 04:04 pm |
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I'm new here but could use some advice. I own a single family home in Michigan and am looking to rent it out as I have been unsuccessful trying to sell it. I have been doing my research online as well as possible and have downloaded a Michigan lease agreement and a Michigan rental application that I have been using. The application asks for bank account information.
I had a prospective tenant (who just happens to be a lawyer) who came to look at the house and said that he won't provide me with his bank account information and that it is illegal to ask for that information under the fair housing act or something. I haven't come across *anything* that says I can't ask for that information and, in fact, have read in several places on the web that it's a good idea to verify funds as part of the screening process.
Does anyone know if this would not be allowed?
If he refuses to provide that information can I refuse to process his application as it is not complete?
He also mentioned something about wanting his lease to start on July 1st, but he would need to move some stuff in before that?!? Ummm..... NO! not so much.
I would love to know: do you *have* to rent to a specific person? For example, if this person was - hypothetically of course - a condescending jerk who you feel is trying to intimidate and dictate terms before even applying, and there is clearly going to be a personality conflict there and you get the impression that they're just going to be a difficult/demanding tenant - do you *have* to rent to them? I mean, being a jerk isn't exactly a protected class under fair housing laws is it? :-)
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