Only 15 minutes after I left the property Tuesday, having shown in to a very interested potential new tenant, I got a phone call from another one. The guy was standing out on the lawn with my existing tenant, hoping to see the place.
I had spoken to him that day and invited him to come out to look while I was planning to be there, but he had declined due to a prior engagement. Turns out that got canceled so he showed up, 15 minutes too late. I apologized and said there was no way I could turn around at this point; traffic was horrible and I was almost home.
The guy persisted and called me again today. He knew another person was interested but asked if he and his roommate could come see the inside anyway. I hesitated and told him that I am supposed to collect the deposit from the other applicant tomorrow; it was "first come, first served," but I promised to call him if for any reason that application fell through.
He countered that they could pay the deposit by tomorrow as well. Impressed, I still told him that I had to give the first person a chance but that he was #2 on the list.
An hour later I changed my mind. I called him back and told him that I'd be happy to meet him out there today and let them see the inside. After all, he had been one of the first people to call me about the place.
Assuming I get two applications back on Friday, I'll simply run them both. And may the best tenant win!
May 28, 2009
Potential Tenants Compete for Duplex!
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12 comments:
Hope the second tenant works out...the first tenant's intentions and behavior are suspect.
Wow, that is wrong. If you lead the first tenant on, saying that if they pay the deposit the place is theirs, then you better hold your end of the deal. If you don't, and those are your business practices, you have a bad business model and will get only the worst tenants. The good ones will go with good businesses.
On first glance I would agree with the second anonymous' comment....but the first tenant would creep me out. You'd save yourself from a lot of headaches if you had a tenant that wasn't hitting on you non-stop. Is there anything on the application that states you HAVE to go with him if he complies? Technically its not a contract, right?
I was just about to post exactly what QL girl wrote. The first guy is creepy! If you do go with the first guy I would definitely make sure you have a PO box for your rent checks. You definitely don't want him to know where you live.
I'm wondering the same thing, whether you are obligated to the first one.
Like others have said, you need to trust your instincts. This guy is at worst, creepy, and at best, seriously patronizing. Sounds like he's bugged by the fact that his landlord is a "little lady" so he's trying to turn things around.
You are a lucky one. We are trying to rent our place now. First, we were selling it but that didnn't pan out so now we're landlords. I don't mind but in this market we've had some trouble. We think we might have it priced too high but we're trying to cover mortgage, taxes and insurance. I'd love to have 2 to pick from!
Jerry
www.leads4insurance.com
I'm not obligated to either one of them. Neither of them has even turned in an application yet! I have been very clear with the first guy that the whole process is "first come first served" - first one to submit an application that gets approved and then pays the deposit gets the place. Which Is why I refused to take the for rent sign but of the yard when he asked me to. No application in my hand, no deposit check in my hand, no promises.
If they both happen to apply on the same day, then I don't think there's anything wrong with processing them both and giving it to the stronger applicant - the one with better credit, stronger income, better references, etc.
And I am not worried about the "creepy" tenant's behavior. First, he won't have any opportunity to be hitting on me - I don't really ever have to see the tenants once they move in. And second I have dealt with guys/men hitting on me my whole life and I can shut it down when I need to. It's certainly nothing that's going to freak me out into passing up on an otherwise good tenant.
"Guys" in general is one thing. Your older, creepy, patronizing tenant is another. My guess is that if he wants to find excuses to you deal with him, be it over the phone or in person, he will. He's a lot older than you. So am I, so are others, and he sounds like a bit of a scam artist to several of us.
He's living in your property. He's just paying rent, you own the place. How easy it would be to "damage" it and then "save" it in the nick of time. Oops, running water. Oops, a small fire.
I'm going to drop this now but the people who read your blog read it because they like you and wish you well, and they are getting a bad vibe from this guy. Maybe it's just a bad vibe and nothing else.
Whatever. I mean well and I'm sure all the other posters do to.
I'm sure you'll make the right decision.
Ugh, the typos, lol. Too bad you don't have an edit function on here.
Being a landlord, I would run them both. There is nothing unethical until applications are in and at this point it is still a vacant property needing to be rented. I always keeping going forward until something is in stone. Time is money.
Just a thought for those having trouble renting a place. I have been showing an out-of-town friend's lovely condo for weeks now with many coming to view it, but no takers. Yesterday, she lowered ONLY the security deposit from 1 month's rent to a little more than half of that ($1250 down to $675). She was BOMBARDED with people. After some weeding out, four were given the address and it was gone to the first guy - a professional with excellent credit and references - who filled out an application and wrote a check. Several people told me that being able to keep some cash in reserves rather than with the landlord had given them a psychological boost and sparked them to see the place. Just a thought...
I'd personally want to rent to the best tenant rather than the first tenant. If the applicant is paying for the credit check and all that, I'd let anyone who wanted to apply and then be able to pick the best of the lot.
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