Comments on: Rental Property Update May 2009

By: S J

S J — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:39:12 +0000

We set up a site JUST FOR this! Tenants cannot get away with this crap.

Check out our site, we are compiling a list of deadbeat tenants.

By: Rental Property Update for Year 2009 | Growing Money

Rental Property Update for Year 2009 | Growing Money — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:31:31 +0000

[...] after many struggles, I got rid of the bad tenants by the end of March. The house was in a terrible condition. The carpets were ruined, the walls had holes in them, the windows were smashed, and the doors were [...]

By: Rental Property Update April 2009 | Growing Money

Rental Property Update April 2009 | Growing Money — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:54:58 +0000

[...] BALANCE (Grand Total Amount Owed – Total Payment Collected): $ 8,341.91 Read more: Rental Property Update May 2009 Rental Property Update March 2009 10 Comments so [...]

By: Carnival of Personal Finance #205 | Growing Money

Carnival of Personal Finance #205 | Growing Money — Thu, 21 May 2009 04:17:19 +0000

[...] It includes my post, Rental Property Update May 2009. [...]

By: Carnival of Personal Finance #205: Pay it Forward Edition | Dads Shack

Carnival of Personal Finance #205: Pay it Forward Edition | Dads Shack — Wed, 20 May 2009 00:35:29 +0000

[...] from Growing Money presents Rental Property Update May 2009, and says, "Damages and Renovation at Rental [...]

By: Smarty Sean

Smarty Sean — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:08:48 +0000

Hi Philly_LL, very good pointers. I agree with what you say. I don’t think we can dismiss a potential tenant on the unpaid medical bills alone. Most medical bills are overcharged (to the insurance) and many people can’t afford or don’t think they should be responsible for ridiculously overcharged prices. If the person has everything else in place – the income, good credit history (other than medical), responsible use of credit, no (non-medical) debt, good rental history, no criminal history, recommendations from previous landlords, etc, then the person can be accepted to be a tenant.

I am looking for and researching potential tenants. I’ll keep you guys posted.

By: Philly_LL

Philly_LL — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:54:27 +0000

Tell Earl he needs to learn his business a bit better. He is correct in that you will get a bunch of applicants that have high 500 low 600 scores. You can also find applicants that have mid 600 scores but you must look at the whole picture and not dismiss any part of the criteria.

An applicant who has a ton of unpaid medical bills will have a horrible credit score. To me they could be acceptable if they have nothing else derogatory on their credit report. The reason is that it tells me that they had some medical expense which they couldn’t afford. It also tells me that they put all other bills above the medical expense during the illness. What will they do if the illness returns? I feel pretty confident that they will pay me and their other creditors. Truth be told if I had a medical expense which I couldn’t afford, it would be the one bill to go unpaid by me also.

Income isn’t everything. Someone who makes a good amount of money could have a great credit score. What would interest me is if they are too maxed out. If they make 3 times the rent gross per month but have $1000.00 in revolving debt payments plus a $500 car payment each month then they won’t be able to afford my rent plus utilities. Not comfortably anyway.

Length of time at the employer, the whole credit history and of course current and previous landlord references are a must. No evictions on their record is also a requirement of mine. Look at the whole package. You can’t dismiss any part of it.

I think his suggestion of steady income over the years is right. It matches the “length of time” requirement. They should gross, at a minimum 3x the rent. They should have no recent late payments and no history of defaulting on debts. One small default here or there is OK or one period where all the defaults happen together could be excused but a history of doing it is a red flag.