Is that like 1%?
Posted on December 5, 2006 - Filed Under Philosophy |
I kept score this time.
The number of . . .
- phone calls and emails regarding the rental: 93
- people who came and saw the house: 48
- applications handed out: 37
- people who scared the heck out of me: 12
- people I wanted to apply: 3
- tenants finally accepted: 1
If a formula could be developed, determining who would make a good tenant and who wouldn’t, then that would be the next big thing. I use several guidelines. And the word "guidelines" applies because in the rental world, not everything is black and white.
Guidelines:
- Look at the car. Tenants typically treat their rental like they treat their car.
- Credit history. There is no minimum "credit score" I look for. What I do look at is people who (1) paid off their past due debts (2) have steadily improved their score over time.
- Level of drama
Believe it or nuts, the last point is quite easy. For all the tendencies of people to "hide" their lives from you, it’s amazing how they blurt things out in conversation that can make or break a good candidate. And it’s the hidden items that tell the story of how the tenant will be like in six months or even a year.
Remember Noah’s Arc? After her was the "Menage à Trois" trio. Then there was the Taxidermist: taxidermy in general creeps me out. Clowns too.
For some of these people, I said to myself "No wonder you’re still a tenant."
Applicant: I know my credit score isn’t the best.
Clifford: No it’s not. You have several "Past 90 Days" late notations here in the past year.
Applicant: But it’s not my fault!
Clifford: It’s not your fault? Did the post office lose your mail 3 months in a row?
Applicant: Well, I moved. And my bills didn’t get forwarded to the new address. Then the stupid post office was closed.
Clifford: You know you can pay online, right?
Applicant: Well, my computer is broken.
Clifford: Ah, gotcha. That’s why you asked if Internet was included with the rent.
Mentally, it is exhausting. It does get to you.
But in the end, it’s worth it.
The new tenant arrived, in his month old hybrid Prius. After retiring from the Navy as a pilot, he decided to fly helicopters for the Sheriff’s department. His credit history shows no late payments in the last 5 years, all debts paid in full. His level of drama is quite low: just one son attending college in Australia and a girlfriend who hails from the same area of Michigan that I’m from.
The only test now is time: will the new tenant become the perfect tenant that I just lost? Today, I can’t say. But I am hedging my bets.
If you liked that post, then try these...
Bygones on May 31st, 2005
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Perspective on April 16th, 2005
I was honored today to have coffee with my mentor.
Comments
7 Responses to “Is that like 1%?”
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He certainly sounds promising. Good luck
And wow, I can’t believe you had 48 people out to see the house.
Actually BM, it was your suggestion that drove the number of people up.
When you told me that “Perfect for single, professional person” could be discriminatory, I removed it from the ad and replaced it with square footage. Suddenly, three and four person families started calling and coming out to the house.
OIY.. I would not want to go thru that processes. Especially not with you. lol just kidding. I cant imagine having to go through that hassle.
Congratulations!
Maybe you can get a ride in his chopper. As I recall they use the ducted fan tail McDonnell Douglas models. Could be fun…
Attatudy, it definitely is worth the hassle to live next to someone who is drama free. But more importantly, it would be nice if someone for once could just say “You know what, I screwed up.”
Matt, actually he flies a R44 which uses a standard fan tail configuration. NOTAR for the local PD? Cool!
>”No wonder you’re still a tenant.”<
Not all renters are scum. And some of us renters would take great offense at this gross generalization.
Renter, if there’s one thing I despise it is generalization. That and comments taken out of context.
In quoting me, you really should quote the entire sentence: For some of these people, I said to myself “No wonder you’re still a tenant.”
The operative words being “some of these people”.