I’ve gotten calls from at least 5 potential applicants claiming to be in this situation, and they need to move ASAP. Have other people been getting these calls? I know this phenomenon is really happening, but I’m concerned that the scammers could be latching onto it now and using it as a cover for an impending eviction or whatever other issues they have with their current landlorld.
“Landlord losing the house to foreclosure” is tenant-speak for “I am getting evicted”.
Screen them just like you screen everybody else. Make sure you are speaking to their real landlord when you check references.
In the past 2 years, I have had exactly one applicant who was losing their rented house due to foreclosure, which the landlord verified. The for sale sign was in the yard.
In the same time period I’ve had 5 dozen callers who claimed the same and turned out to be real losers, horrible credit, lies on their applications, really bad landlord references, no verifiable source of income, and criminal records. I guess I was supposed to feel sorry for them and not check their references.
Just run their credit. Good tenants will have good credit. Deadbeats won’t.
I may not have the rental experience you have but your statement is too broad to be helpful. Some homeowners are going through foreclosures because they weren’t smart and got into bad mortgages. This of course ruins their credit, now are they bad tenants or good tenants because of that? I have read these forums for years and have gotten allot of good information, and picked up several good habits. I had fewer than 5 homes as my start and it ended badly for me but that is no one’s fault but my own yet I am still a good tenant with “BAD” credit. I know we generalize in these forums but I always see other people make these statements. Just my two cents.
Benjie
benjiej,
I’m not sure if you were replying to my post or one of the responses. I know there are some legitimate cases of this. But I was concerned that the deadbeats had figured out that they could claim to be in this situation in order to hide their own well-deserved evictions.
Benji, he’s asking about tenants who claim they have to move because the landlord is losing the house to foreclosure. They aren’t the owner, so the foreclosure has nothing at all to do with their credit rating.
It sounds like you were the owner and you lost the house to foreclosure. That is very different. I take those applicants on a case by case basis.
However, I’ve got to tell you, I don’t like it. I’m always worried that the tenant will move in and then declare bankruptcy. They couldn’t pay the mortgage, how are they going to pay the rent?
But it all depends upon their income, job security, the condition they left teh foreclosed house in, and whatever else they didn’t pay besides the mortgage.
If the story is true and their landlord is being forclosed on and they are being evicted, if they don’t pass the screening they need to be turned down.
Anybody who is getting evicted, no matter what the cause, is an automatic rejection. If they won’t move out when they are given notice, and you must take them to court to get them out, I don’t want them in my house.
If you try to rent properties out to only people with good credit you will
probably have a lot of vacancies.
You just need to go look where they are moving from,
talk to the neighbors, look in the windows.
Contact the owner and see why they asked them to move.
Check thier income, credit and look them in the eye.
If you have trouble renting a unit, qualify it for section 8.
Move in a tenant that section 8 pay the full rent amount.
Bad things happen to good people. Donald trump filed for bankruptcy
so I guess some of the people here would not rent to him either.
Couples with good credit split up and leave you high and dry.
The mother with five kids pays her rent every month and takes
care of the property like it’s her own for six years.
Use your gut and the location to make the ultimate decision on who
to rent too. People with great credit ussually buy not rent.