Unhappy - feeling pressured

[sheehs1]

Like others I'd reject it based on the credit score. Then I'd take it off the rental market for a while. You don't need to explain why. You own the unit.

Or you could say you have decided not to rent but sell. Then try to sell it now. I know you didn't want to do that for a year but it may be worth it not to get involved with this guy.

I didn't know that "no dogs allowed" did not include service dogs. Maybe I should try that one next time I want a week at the beach and want to take my dog. (kidding of course).

 

[calmloki]

Yeah, I loath the service animal scam. You are lucky that the credit score gives you a simple and direct way out. Use it. The management company is (rightly) concerned about covering their own azz first and foremost. Unfortunate, but that is a common thing with people - they protect themselves first - which is one of the reasons rental managers have never appealed to me - their self interest is ahead of mine. If you ever do end up renting to a qualified tenant with a service animal do charge every penny you can as a refundable deposit. Don't get me started on how i feel about "companion service animals" that some doctor has been talked into giving a note authorizing so the patient is less anxious - been the butt of that scam too often and it impacts how truly disabled people with seeing eye dogs or animals that provide an actual service are served by landlords. Reality: one tenant gets a note for a service companion animal cat or two and the next thing you know three other tenants develop anxiety and need cats and dogs.

 

[brett]

Protect your investment.

Say no. Your rental agent just wants to rent the place...after that it is your issue. If the credit score is low....why bother.

My guess is that your gut is saying NO. Go with your gut.

 

[pb4uski]

Situation smells to high heavens. Get away from that lessee while you can.

 

[Khufu]

If the OP rejects the tenant (which is what I would do), why on earth would he give a reason? I doubt very much that he has any obligation to provide any explanation at all. I wouldn't give an explanation as it could be used against you.

 

[Major Tom]

If the OP rejects the tenant (which is what I would do), why on earth would he give a reason? I doubt very much that he has any obligation to provide any explanation at all. I wouldn't give an explanation as it could be used against you.

It is perfectly legal to refuse to rent to someone based on their poor credit. It would be prudent, IMO, to refuse to rent and state this as the reason, in case the applicant were thinking of trying to claim they were refused for some other reason (such as perceived discrimination against their "service" animal.)

If you do this, I think it's important to be as even-handed as possible, and treat all applicants the same. In other words, if you have rented to anyone with equally poor credit in the past and this comes to light, that might make your position less strong. Having said that, if you refuse to rent to him and clearly state that the reason is his poor credit, he'll probably just go away and stay away.

 

[haha]

Boy, it sure sounds like landlording is the cat's pajamas!

Good luck, Amethyst, and when you get out of this just keep going until it is sold.

Ha

 

[Walt34]

That letter from the applicant sounds like a scam letter. This from a retired investigator.

+1 from another one. Lots of red flags the others have already articulated, no need to repeat them.

Scam, scam scam.

Run, run run.

The low credit score give you ample reason to reject without even mentioning the dog.

 

[jollystomper]

All good posts to help solve the problem. I agree as there is just too much information and detail provided in advance of the lease. Also remember, once they are in you will play hell getting them out. Sounds like trouble to me also. Just find a regular tenant, whatever that is.

+1

I saw my dad go through hell trying to get rid of tenants who had rented under what turned out to be false pretenses. Do what others have said and simply reject based on the credit score, don't say ANYTHING else.

 

[RunningBum]

A few people are criticizing the agent, but it seems to me that they did everything they could to raise a red flag about it while protecting themselves against a discrimination lawsuit. They are basically telling the OP to reject it, but to be careful and not do anything to bring a lawsuit. I bet if you called them, off the record they would give more advice, but not in writing. I'm sure they've seen stuff like this before. If they just wanted to rent it, they'd be saying "Here's your one and only applicant, here's a letter from them, here's what you and them need to fill out/sign to get this done."

 

[Dawg52]

Boy, it sure sounds like landlording is the cat's pajamas!



Ha

Ain't that the truth. I have a house I'm close to having ready to sell or rent, but I think I'm going to just list it for as long as it takes to sell. I'm not cut out for landlording headaches.

Good luck Amethyst. I would say no as others have recommended.

 

[Lcountz]

I think you would be good just telling them no, and if you MUST give a reason, use the credit score...

It may feel prickly for the 5 minutes you are telling them ( or the agent) but something tells me these types will just move on to the next landlord, without skipping a beat.

They may already have multiple applications out there already.

IT's just SO hard to trust anyone these days, isnt it.....Please let us know how this works out.....

Good luck......

 

[HFWR]

I'm not qualified in any way to give legal advise, but, yeah, this situation reeks to high heaven...

Best of luck!

 

[H2ODude]

Without all the details why, DS had a contractor doing some stuff on his house about 2 hours away from me, and we were considering letting him rent it with arrangement to get "credits" for doing some modest improvements. Over the period of a few days red flags started going off left and right. Realizing he had keys and was preparing to move in despite not completing requisite paperwork, I finally called a locksmith and rushed to meet him there. Never have I felt having dodged a bullet so closely. I'm not cut out for land lording, DS has an agent handling it (he's an expat so can't do himself); hope it works out. As for the service dog issue, agree with all; reject on basis of credit report. Even without SD it would be reason to walk away.

 

[travelover]

Looks like it would be really hard to fake a service dog.

Service Dog Vest | eBay

 

[MRG]

His description of his business gives great insight to his disability.

As others have said stay away, there's only a possible upside of renting your place, but a whole lot of downside. I know it's hard to say no to renting your place, but that letter, is a huge warning.

MRG

 

[growing_older]

Looks like it wold be really hard to fake a service dog.

We see lots of "service dogs" in the local supermarket. All breeds. Almost none of them with any kind of vest or identification. The clerks tell me that they are not allowed to ask anything about the animal or the reason except "Is that your service dog?" If the person says yes, then they cannot ask anything else. If the person says no, then they can explain that the store hygiene policy does not allow animals.

I actually heard this exchange once where the person said it wasn't a service animal, but as soon as they were asked to take the dog out, recanted and said oh yes it was a service animal. That ended the conversation and the dog was allowed to remain. By now it's very well known that if you are willing to say "service animal" you can bring your dog anywhere.

 

[photoguy]

This is terrible. Just like the people who use the "disabled" parking stickers when they don't need it.

 

[W2R]

Boy, it sure sounds like landlording is the cat's pajamas!

Good luck, Amethyst, and when you get out of this just keep going until it is sold.

Ha

Ha, you and I are just not landlords at heart! Amethyst, I have no insights to add whatsoever, but I wish you good luck and I hope that whatever you decide to do works out for you.

 

[MRG]

This is terrible. Just like the people who use the "disabled" parking stickers when they don't need it.

It's even worse, I really had no idea people did this and how it impacts legitimate service dogs. Bestwifeever thanks for posting thst link.

I've turned in a coworker for parking in disabled parking. The girl justified her actions with 'it's not like anybodys using that parking'. OMG, when the girl later resigned from Megacorp, I asked HR to term her that day and pay her for the two weeks. She was so happy, she didn't know the policy, when Megacorp did that, she became ineligible for rehire. I'm sure life has many more lessons for her.

MRG

 

[Meadbh]

Someone at a workplace I occasionally went to had a "service dog" at work for a year or two until it was questioned. The dog had to leave.

 

[Animorph]

Sounds like you might also be able to catch them for false statements on the application if the carpet miracle turns out to be false. Check the references carefully.

 

[SumDay]

That letter from the applicant sounds like a scam letter.

+1, coming from a landlord who has heard it all. I have finally learned to trust my gut. Sounds like this guy is making your gut queasy. Trust it.

 

[calmloki]

...

Then go watch "Pacific Heights".
Pacific Heights (1990) - IMDb

You are a cruel cruel woman Sue J. That movie makes landlords sweat and twist at night. Just the parts where so much care and work and love has gone into the place, and then....

 

[modhatter]

I have rental property in Florida. Getting someone evicted is not easy there. It can take several months, and there are no "cheap eviction" companies that I could find there. An attorney I spoke with wanted $4,000.

In Arizona, as an example, you can have someone evicted in less than 30 days, and they have firms that specialize in this with paralegals doing all the paperwork, and charge about $350 per eviction.

I think we all agree the "service dog" is a bold face lie, so that speaks to the person's character. His "multi-million dollar pending business deal with a 600 credit score tells me this guy is most likely a BSr, or just someone who doesn't pay his bills.

Most people pay their rent if they are financially able to, as maintaining a roof over their head is important to them. Those that don't fall into two categories, those who lose their jobs and don't have emergency funds to carry them, and con men, who know the law and the time frame involved in eviction and all the ways they can delay it. They will usually stick you in the end a few months before they intend to vacate the property.

If you have a property management company they should be able to do an eviction search on the tenant in Florida and the other state they say they lived. A reference when it involves a single family home or condo owned by one owner can always turn out to be a friend or relative.

An apartment building run by a management company is a more reliable reference. On another note, I have in the past taken a chance with someone who had a not so good credit score, but only if I met them and they had a credible story. If they had decent credit for a number of years, then either lost their job, or got divorced, or had large medical expenses, and their credit then went south. These people can be worthwhile. Not something I like to do though, as it is risky. If you are new to being a landlord, understand that 70% of your applicants will have bad credit by the way. You usually have to go through a few applications to get a good one. Especially today with so many layoffs and people abandoning their homes. Also people who need a place right away, are usually not your best prospects. Just some friendly Landlord advise.