FINALLY, after two long months of toiling, I have officially leased the vacant unit in my duplex. Technically I only toiled to rent it for about 6 weeks, but I lost out on two solid months of rental income (May 15 - July 15).
I am really excited about the couple who finally rented it, and I think they will be a much better fit than the other folks who showed interest along the way.
It's a husband and wife, middle aged, steadily employed, and very excited about living in my place. They've been in an apartment and miss having a yard and a garage. The woman has taken to giving me big hugs, which seems weird but fits her big shining personality. I'm sure they'll get along well with the neighbors.
The woman teared up when she told me the story of how they toiled for years and finally bought a house and then lost it when her husband fell ill and couldn't work last year.
Their credit was ruined and she was so afraid they wouldn't qualify to rent my place. I kept assuring her that bad credit scores alone wouldn't disqualify them (past evictions and unverified income are the main red flags I look for). She hopefully gave me a deposit check anyway when I met her this morning to take her application.
When I called to tell her they'd been accepted she exploded with delight and said I was like her own little angel (a description she later repeated when meeting my other tenants). When I met her just now to sign the lease and hand over the keys he gave me another huge hug and kept gushing about how wonderful and "compassionate" I am.
I was a bit bemused, but I couldn't help being flattered. I'm just really glad they love it and are happy to call it home. And that they seem very willing and able to pay me RENT.
July 10, 2009
IT IS RENTED! New Tenants Moving In
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7 comments:
All right. Hope this turns out well. I don't mean to be mean, but (I told you I'm jaded, and it's from past experience) if I were willing to bet (and I will, because nothing is riding on this but my word) I predict trouble.
This is NOT to wish ill for you, seriously. I just smell a rat. It has to do with the very nice lady and very nice man, from your description, acting like flakes, and with the worry about being turned down due to credit and the hard luck story that is just so heart-wrenching... OK, over and out.
Oh that is so sweet.
I'm so happy for them.
MEG,
Just curious: is it *very* difficult to find tenants w/o some sort of credit or other major blemish on their applications? How many applications do you think you would you have to go through to find an ideal tenant w/o credit problems or convictions and w/ steady, verifiable income?
@Anon: People with perfect credit and income generally buy, they don't rent. So if you're offering a rental with a yard (which will attract families more than apartments will), you're really likely to see a lot of applicants with credit issues.
Many landlords use criminal history as an indicator of problem tenants much more than they use credit history as a weed-out mechanism.
@ Anon (first) - I don't think I've ever had a tenant apply with "good" credit - though many have had steady income and otherwise would be considered good applicants (no criminal record, etc). But I haven't been doing this for that long, and I've only dealt with 3 vacancies since owning the place.
@ Anon (second) - you are right; many renters have bad credit and/or no credit. What I've learned since being a landlord is that there's no reason to try for the "perfect" applicant. Everybody needs a place to live, whether they have credit issues, criminal histories, or unsteady income.
I've had great success with the two couples I've rented to who have credit/employment issues (credit issues I knew about before, employment ones I realized later). They are grateful to have a place to live and make it a priority to pay the rent. Better to have a grateful tenant than one with perfect credit.
Congrats! I'm glad to hear that you have new tenants!
I really hope that 444 is wrong...but I know nothing about being a landlord!
Well I'm learning as you are learning.
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