What tenant would you rather rent to?

[Hockeyguy15]

Trick question. Banging is never free.

[btimbit]

I have one I'm not sure about.

22 year old couple with a 3 year old son, combined income of around 100k, good job security, can definitely afford the place but the age and kid scares me a bit. Seem very mature, I've had friends with horror stories renting to people in their early 20s but these don't seem like your typical party going weed smoking kids.

[ken0042]

Same last name? That would be my determining factor- if they are actually married odds are they are more stable. Being common law at that age you might see a bit of a revolving door of people coming and going.

I'm just glad that when I was that age it was still a renter's market.

[btimbit]

Not married, think the kid wasn't actually his either just the girls from a past relationship. I didn't talk to her much just the guy. Only things that have me unsure are the age and the kid, nothing about him rubs me the wrong way, seemed like a hard working mature person especially for his age.

Just looking on paper I'd say no but they seem like good people.

[jayswin]

Whenever I read these threads I always wonder if there's some guy who's waiting to hear back about being approved to rent a place, then reads a thread like this and reads an exact description of him and his gf/kids and then realizes his situation is being evaluated on the message board he's a part of, haha.

[Calgary14]

+1 for waiting it out. I'd wait til Tenant C shows up. A and B seem ok but pets aren't ideal and as someone else mentioned the rental market is insanely tight. I have one rental and no pets are allowed, I did that to avoid the headaches that go along with it

[fokkerfan]

I have had renters in the past with pets and will never allow it again. Cats are impossible to clean up after, it is a costly cleanup with all carpets/underlay needing to be removed. You can't just steam clean. Even the my concrete floor basement needed a complete bleaching. Terrible, stay away if you can. I have a feeling my current tenant has gotten a cat, I'll be watching a little closer now.

[photon]

One tip for cleaning up after cats/dogs when replacing carpets, sometimes even the wood underneath the underlay gets it and will smell after replacing the underlay and carpet, so what one installer told me to do is put Killz on the bare floor after taking up the underlay and carpet (or whatever). Seals in the smell. I've used Killz before when doing a reno on a house that had a smoker and it was pretty amazing, so this sounds legit.

[tvp2003]

Thought I would bump this thread instead of starting a new one.

Quick question: current tenants are moving out of the city... as a landlord, is there a big difference between making a property available on the 1st of the month versus mid-month (i.e. the 15th)?

[rohara66]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Thought I would bump this thread instead of starting a new one.

Quick question: current tenants are moving out of the city... as a landlord, is there a big difference between making a property available on the 1st of the month versus mid-month (i.e. the 15th)?

At this point I'm pretty sure you could rent a place out with a 2nd of the month possession date no problem.

[photon]

Much more interest in 1st of the month possessions, but if the current tenants are out early and you can offer a mid-month tenancy no reason not to try for it. I've had it happen a couple of times. EDIT: Oh I see I got it backwards, either way basically put it for whatever date it's actually available.

Thing you have to watch out for is people who need something right away. Like they're asking if they can get a key and start moving in before you've even had a chance to process their application. Make sure and do extra research on those (i.e. look on Rentfaster to see if their old place is up for rent, make sure the references they give aren't actually their buddy who will give glowing reviews, etc).

[Barbecue]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Thought I would bump this thread instead of starting a new one.

Quick question: current tenants are moving out of the city... as a landlord, is there a big difference between making a property available on the 1st of the month versus mid-month (i.e. the 15th)?

assuming a majority of renters out there have their own leases for the 1st, it's just dealing with the lay over. You'd be making it more convenient for the ones with an existing 1st of each month

[tvp2003]

nm

[DeluxeMoustache]

You can always pro rate the first month and move to monthly anniversary dates

[ken0042]

As a tenant, I prefer to have overlapping possession whenever possible. I'd rather pay an extra 1/2 month to be able to have a smoother move.

However as a landlord I don't see any reason to give them a break to end their lease mid month. They should pay until the end of August- giving you a minimum of a full month's notice. If you want to be nice to them, you can let them know that if you find somebody willing to pay to move in mid-month you will refund them. However I would not be going out of my way for them.

I've had to give notice on the 2nd or 3rd before; knowing full well that I was now giving 1.9 month's notice.

[Coach]

I've had tenants come in mid-month or days before/after month-end. If it's in the middle I usually just prorate the rent for the days they will be there. If it's within a few days and the room is empty anyways I don't care about giving them a few days free, as long as they don't make a fuss for not having to pay for 2 or 3 days if they move in a little later.

I'm a pretty relaxed landlord who lives in the same house though, so my situation is often different from other landlords.

[photon]

I'm the same I pro-rate the rent if it's partial months and don't sweat a few days here or there.

Like ken mentioned though I am very strict on proper notice, if they give notice a few days into the month they just gave 1.9 months notice.

I will refund them though if I do end up renting it during the vacant month.

[tvp2003]

Here's a new one for you guys (all hypothetical of course):

A: younger couple; kid on the way; he has a stable, good-paying* job; both seem pretty mature
B: early 30's couple; both are working stable jobs; both appear very conscientious

Both look like great options, but if you could only pick one, who would you take and why? Would be interested to hear some different perspectives; keep in mind that long term is better -- i.e. assuming everything else is equal (they virtually are), the tenant who might stay 3+ years is preferable to the one that may only stay 1 or 2...

* sorry, forgot this was CP aka the 0.5% club. He makes a good salary but is not an O&G six figures guy.

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Here's a new one for you guys (all hypothetical of course):

A: younger couple; kid on the way; he has a stable, good-paying job; both seem pretty mature
B: early 30's couple; both are working stable jobs; both appear very conscientious

Both look like great options, but if you could only pick one, who would you take and why? Would be interested to hear some different perspectives; keep in mind that long term is better -- i.e. assuming everything else is equal (they virtually are), the tenant who might stay 3+ years is preferable to the one that may only stay 1 or 2...

Just my hunch, but couple "A" are probably going to want to buy a place of their own once the kid reaches 2 or so. So if you want a long-term tenant, I'd lean towards couple "B".

[Barbecue]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Here's a new one for you guys (all hypothetical of course):

A: younger couple; kid on the way; he has a stable, good-paying job; both seem pretty mature
B: early 30's couple; both are working stable jobs; both appear very conscientious

Both look like great options, but if you could only pick one, who would you take and why? Would be interested to hear some different perspectives; keep in mind that long term is better -- i.e. assuming everything else is equal (they virtually are), the tenant who might stay 3+ years is preferable to the one that may only stay 1 or 2...

That's a no brainer
B)