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I've had some prospects look at my rental, and received some feedback.
One couple thinks it is too much to ask for most recent bank statement as additional proof of income.
They were used to just providing pay stubs.
Only the husband is working; wife is stay-home.
I think they're living paycheck to paycheck and don't want me to see that they have little saved.
The biggest issue is if the husband is laid off, there will be no money left to pay rent.
In the past, a few have voluntarily offered their bank statement when I didn't require it.
I don't think it's a big deal unless you have something to hide-
1. it can be faked
2. I can't do anything malicious with your account number.
Where I work, we require the last three month of bank statements if the person applying is not working. They have to show three to show consectituve funds to cover several months worth of rent or 3 times what the rent is.
Employed people we require the two most recent paystubs along with us verifying employment with the employer.
As a landlord, we don't ask for them unless the tenant does not have sufficient verifiable income. Along the same lines, if I was renting, I would only expect to provide a copy of a bank statement if I did not have a job yet, or was retired, and had to show I could support myself. Even then, I would only give the summary page, with the account number blacked out.
Just a heads up. You are making a judgment about these particular applicants that they have no savings. Hopefully you have it on your written requirement list that you always require copies of bank statements when the household only has 1 income (including if you have a single person), otherwise these applicants could accuse you of discrimination. Whatever your rules are, stick with them. If you require a credit score of 650 and 2.5x the rent in income, stick to that. If they don't meet your minimum requirements, turn them down. If they do meet your requirements, and you are still too nervous about them, maybe your requirements need a review.
Finally, I will say you need to accept the fact that when you have tenants, life happens. We manage 150 units, and this week I had 2 tenants call me and say they needed to break the lease because of a divorce, and one who needed to break the lease because they were getting married (it was a crazy week, that totally isn't normal to have 3 in one month, let alone all in one week). We have a lease break clause in our lease that describes the penalties and procedure, so they knew exactly what to expect. Think about putting one into your lease. Life happens, and people do sometimes have to break their leases due to marriage, divorce, death in family, job loss, etc.
I don't need to see who's paying you or whom you're paying.
people could be earning $5000 a month, and spending $4500 of that every month on stuff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lacerta
We have a lease break clause in our lease that describes the penalties and procedure, so they knew exactly what to expect. Think about putting one into your lease. Life happens, and people do sometimes have to break their leases due to marriage, divorce, death in family, job loss, etc.
I do not use a lease break clause.
I use common law. You move, you're still liable for the lease, but I have a duty to find a new tenant.
But if I did have such clause, I'd ask for 2 months rent.
Many tenants would probably just abandon the rental then, and let the landlord keep the security deposit.
LL would have to pursue them in small claims in any case.
Also, there's no point blacking out the account number on your bank statement. That will just make me question you more. When you give me a rent check, your account number is printed on the bottom.
I think it's reasonable to expect 3 months saved up. In my case, that would be about $6000.
many prospects in my area balk at the thought of anything over 1 month security deposit.
You'd be surprised how little people have saved, and how they can barely pay for move-in costs of First month + security.
Like I said before, your bank account number is something you give out every time you write a check.
And no one is going to judge you if you don't have more than $10k saved up. After all, that's why most people rent. They don't have enough for down payment to buy a house.
Also, there's no point blacking out the account number on your bank statement. That will just make me question you more. When you give me a rent check, your account number is printed on the bottom.
But when I hand you a check, it's because I've entered into a transaction with you with the understanding that you'll be using the document to withdraw a stated amount of money. There's a relationship and a certain level of trust involved. Handing over documents like that to what amounts to a perfect stranger? not so much. Especially as it's not common practice and I could say "no way" and move on to the next place that looks interesting with a 99.99% chance they won't be asking anything so intrusive without any trouble
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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As long as it's legal, as in this case, the potential renter can either comply or look elsewhere. If you are desperate for a tenant then you may need to change your policy, but the important thing is to not ask someone for something you don't ask everyone for. If the applicant happens to be in a protected class that can be used against you in a discrimination lawsuit.
I think it's reasonable to expect 3 months saved up. In my case, that would be about $6000.
many prospects in my area balk at the thought of anything over 1 month security deposit.
You'd be surprised how little people have saved, and how they can barely pay for move-in costs of First month + security.
Like I said before, your bank account number is something you give out every time you write a check.
And no one is going to judge you if you don't have more than $10k saved up. After all, that's why most people rent. They don't have enough for down payment to buy a house.
And you'd be surprised at how hard it is to find a tenant when the landlord is just so damn nosey.
If paychecks alone aren't good enough for you, include a call to their employer, but asking for bank statements is just going too far in my book. I don't use checks, so my bank account number isn't given out to anyone.
and your bolded statement couldn't be more wrong.
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