Beware of These Types of Rental Candidates

HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS WHEN A RENTAL CANDIDATE TELLS YOU THIS…

Finding the right tenant for your property is the most important step in your effort to create passive income through rental property. There are basic guidelines and rules that you should establish, or make life easier and hire a professional property manager to do the leasing for you. Ultimately, you’re looking for someone who will reliably pay their rent on time who will also report any maintenance needs/concerns promptly.

In vetting potential tenants, it is also essential that you do not discriminate against any protected classes as mandated federally under the Fair Housing Act or any additional state and/or city laws. There are seven federally protected classes including race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, and national origin. Many states have also added protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. When leasing your property, you need to be cognizant of these protections to avoid acting unlawfully.

LEARN MORE: WHO’S THE BEST PERSON TO RENT YOUR RENTAL PROPERTY FOR YOU?

DIVING IN: FAMILIAL STATUS

Six of those seven groups are pretty straight forward and easy to understand. The one exception is familial status, so let’s look a little closer. Familial status protections prohibit discrimination against families with children under 18, those who are pregnant, or in the process of adopting or gaining custody of a child. Namely, you can’t decide not to rent to someone because they have children. To protect against this, Nexus Property Management® purposefully asks tenant candidates “how many adults 18 or older” are in their party.

The reason we’re diving into this one a bit is just to make it crystal clear that in warning you to beware of a type of rental candidate, we’re not brushing up against federal law.

LEARN MORE: IS YOUR RENTAL PROPERTY LEAD SAFE?

THE RENTAL CANDIDATE WHO WILL INEVITABLY WASTE YOUR TIME

All that to say that in creating an efficient leasing process, you need to ensure you’re still being fair to all candidates. So we’re not saying NOT TO RENT to these people…we’re just letting you know that odds are very strong that they’re going to get your hopes up only to let you down.

The group we’re talking about are…people who are separating from their domestic partners.

LEARN MORE: SHOULD YOU MEET RENTAL CANDIDATES A LEASING AGENT FINDS FOR YOU PRIOR TO APPROVING THEIR APPLICATION?

THE ALL TOO CONSISTENT SCRIPT:

Time and time again, we meet men and women who appear to be very strong candidates (plenty of income, solid credit) for vacant properties who then share that they are in the process of separating from their partner. “My wife and I aren’t together right now so I’m looking for something close enough so I can still see my kids easily”...”We’re working some things out but it’s not looking good so I’m looking for a 6 month lease and will very likely extend beyond then…just need to see where things settle”...”We’re going to couples therapy but it’s a waste of time so I’m going to need a place of my own”. Now…none of these stories disqualifies these candidates alone. The lesson is not to run from these people or infringe on their opportunities. The lesson is to avoid wasting your time with next steps, or at least set realistic expectations, because they’re not reliable candidates. They’re high on emotion and while choosing a place to live is typically a major life decision for people, in these cases your apartment is just the second most important variable, and universally they’re not going to commit…so you shouldn’t waste your time.

LEARN MORE: WHAT SHOULD HIRING A PROPERTY MANAGER COST?

NAVIGATING THE TENANT POOL

There are plenty of qualified tenants out there and you’ll find them if you’ve got a solid process and your property is priced correctly. Your goal should be to find those qualified tenants as quickly and cost-effectively as possible while focusing on the long-term benefits of ensuring you get the leasing right. The safest route is to hire a professional who commonly works in the rental market (i.e. a property manager rather than a realtor) or at the very least, call the nearest Nexus office and have a chat with one of our specialists. And if you do rent yourself and run into someone who is separating or going through a divorce, don't write them off, but instead engage and have an honest, up front conversation to ensure you're being efficient with your time...and theirs. Best of luck!

LEARN MORE: THE MOST OVERRATED (AND UNDERRATED) PART OF THE RENTAL APPLICATION: CREDIT SCORES!

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Mick Lefort is the General Manager of Nexus' New Haven County Franchise Office and the Vice President of Operations for Nexus Property Management®, a National Property Management Franchise that manages all types of rental property from single family homes or condos to large apartment buildings and complexes.

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