Seeking renters opinions

[chucklenut]

The money is for the work needed that generates a "NO" to a applicant it's not a source of revenue.

you should anticipate tire kickers in any business

if you take on every applicant without using common sense then you deserve to have your time wasted

i have specifically not answered adds that wanted too much money for processing or was too demanding.

just my take on it. i think its bad business practice to nickle and dime on something that will be generating money for an entire year or more (timeframe on lease)

whats the saying, penny wise and pounds foolish?

 

[JHW]

Make it $50. It will easily cost that much if you sit down and put a dollar amount on each step involved in the application process.
1) You placed an ad
2) How many calls/emails did you get and have to respond to.
A) How many went right in the "NO" pile
B) Repeat 2A until you make it to 3
3) Do whatever background stuff you normally do
A) Repeat until they pass 3
4) How many times did you meet and show the property?
And it keeps going. If you have any staff do they work for free?

If they don't have the coin you don't want them.
What you can also do is apply the $50 to the first months rent to the chosen applicant. Makes you look like a nice guy/landlord/company. You have a signed lease and they have their $50 back, everyone is happy....for now......

I would agree we don't pull credit on everyone as we do screen through other ways, but I think it's more than fair to credit it back on the firsts months rent if we accept them.

 

[galvatron]

wtf?

if im selling a gun im not going to add in the time it takes to list the ad and confer with the buyer. that should be a known cost to the seller IMO

the rental property exists as a means of income. so unless you are acting as a 3rd party agent and attempting to get a commission for renting someone elses property, then trying to squeeze a buck out of potential prospects is just greasy lol

How much did it cost to list the ad in your chosen format?
How much did the say 10 background checks that came back bad listing your ad cost?
How many trips to the property did you have to make or worse yet pay someone to go....

It's only income if it pays more than it costs. Getting a signed lease is part of the cost.

 

[chucklenut]

How much did it cost to list the ad in your chosen format?
How much did the say 10 background checks that came back bad listing your ad cost?
How many trips to the property did you have to make or worse yet pay someone to go....

It's only income if it pays more than it costs. Getting a signed lease is part of the cost.

i disagree

if im selling or renting property that is my job, not administration

so, my opinion is that it is a known cost and if you field every applicant without due diligence then you are practicing bad business anyway. the entire purpose is to get the property occupied

 

[galvatron]

i disagree

if im selling or renting property that is my job, not administration

so, my opinion is that it is a known cost and if you field every applicant without due diligence then you are practicing bad business anyway. the entire purpose is to get the property occupied

Do you work for free?

Did I not say to refund the money to the chosen applicant?
The ones who don't qualify still take time and effort to reject regaurdless of the time it took to reject them. At the 120 or whatever number of units JHW has I'm guessing the costs to get and maintain signed leases alone is significant.

 

[Lockout]

... or anything left in the apartment when they leave!

Which will be trash and bugs

 

[JHW]

Which will be trash and bugs

Yeah very very rarely is it something you would ever want.

 

[Grub Master]

I have rental houses and I always charge a $25 credit check fee for all adults. I only due this after weeding out the tire kickers and have a good idea that the prospective tenant will be approved. It cost me $20-25 to run a credit check.
I would never take a credit card for rent or a deposit. People who need to finance their rent are the same ones that think it's ok to rent furniture and appliances. Sooner or later they will max out of credit cards and leave the landlord holding the bag.

 

[galvatron]

Accepting plastic might not be a bad idea in some cases.
I would love to be able to pay my mortgage and car payments with my rewards card. The wife pays everything but those 3 bills with it. She pays all the bills, with the card then pays the card from the bank acct. all online. 2% adds up fast and that would be even more money back.
Plus it simplifies the bank statements and if she needs more details the card statements are always available.

 

[DirtySouth]

Not a renter but I have a good friend who owns multiple rental properties, and I've discussed it with him numerous times. He charges an application fee and does a background check on his potential renters. His reasoning is; it weeds out a lot of people. If someone isn't willing to pay $25-$40 for the application fee, it's only a matter of time before they don't pay a months rent. So far it's worked out for him, and he's had rental properties since he graduated high school in the mid nineties.