Mitch Goldstein | Coach Mitch | February 16th, 2016Coach Mitch’s REFLECTIONS™
In a recent forum discussion within MrLandlord.com the topic was:
Who won’t you rent to… ?
Question: Other than the obvious (can’t afford, eviction history) are there any groups/career fields you won’t rent to? And why?
There were lots of answers, here’s a list.
1. Property manager
2. Military
3. Parents of untrained children.
4. People who show up in suits.
5. People who are overly critical or picky during the showing, scrutinizing every little detail.
6. Anyone who steps out of the car at the showing and my gut screams, “Please just get back in the car and leave!”
7. Boyfriend/girlfriend situations
8. No roommates unless they’re brothers
9. Young single mothers (under 24) come with all sorts of PITA (Pain In The Ass) things.
10. I don’t favor any who come across as trying to show they know more than me.
11. No well-dressed applicants.
12. Those in the legal community, they like to play legalize games.
13. Strippers, uh, I mean exotic dancers. But they are declined for no proof of income.
14. Most self-employed people. Unless they actually show income on their tax statements.
15. Anyone who wants to change everything before they move in: must have different color paint, light fixtures, appliances, etc.
16. Anyone with helicopter parents. I’m OK with young first time renters, but NOT with parents who still run their lives.
17. People who want to be back yard mechanics.
18. Anyone who thinks they are too good for the property.
19. Anyone that shows up with their “fiancé” to look at the place but the fiancé won’t be completing an application because he/she won’t be living there. Yeah, right.
20. Myself. I have too many animals and a car that looks like somebody is living in it.
21. Anybody who wants to negotiate or take control.
22. Folks who need me to “work with them” on the move-in monies.
23. Folks who feel the need to educate me on how ignorant I am about not allowing Pitbull’s.
24. Folks who ask if I can rent the SFH with all utilities included for the same price of without utilities.
25. Folks who, during the screening phone call, can’t quite remember the first and last name of all the folks they propose to live in the premises.
26. Folks from far, far away, who have no connections locally and will be “looking for work” when they arrive.
27. Police or other law enforcement.
28. Self-employed who have a home based business where customers come to the house, like a hair dresser.
29. Those living on Social Security, or Disability. They must have employment that can be garnished.
30. First time renters.
31. Friends, family, and people we work with, such as contractors, and church family.
32. Someone who races in the door and immediately says, ‘I want to rent it.” without even looking at the whole house.
33. Ministers
34. College boys
35. People to ask “can you work with me on the deposit”
36. Anyone with pets
37. Folks who tell me they have the money in their pocket RIGHT now for the deposit and first month’s rent. They are either being evicted or mom/grandma/the girlfriend is tired of them shacking up on the couch and has told them to get out NOW.
38. Extended families…for my larger (5 bedroom, 2 bathroom) house; it turned out to be three generations wanting to park themselves there.
39. Anyone who says “god bless you” all the time. Anytime I hear that I know I’m about to get screwed.
40. Anyone with BO or bad teeth.
41. If they mention that unspecified number of children from ex-baby mamma and ex-daddy will be visiting every weekend.
42. Some unknown person will also be moving into the unit in a month, but they’re out of the country right now.
43. Anyone who wants a break in rent for doing work on property.
44. People who have to have someone else call for them, to get information and/or fill out the application for them, etc.
45. A prospective tenant asking if they need to complete an application or if I check references.
46. Something that smells like EVICTION, like they have to move out by a certain date.
47. Someone that shows up in my states public court access system.
48. Someone who said he needs a 2 car garage since he has “many toys” cars motorcycles, etc. Afraid of neighbors complaining and stuff.
49. Anyone who nitpicks things like chips in paint, blinds etc.
50. People who argue with me and want to tell me how to run my property.
51. People who have an attitude of entitlement.
52. Folks who are in the movie biz.
53. Parents whose kids are in charge.
54. 40’s single/couple. Kids out of the house.
55. People without the proper id.
56. People that, when you ask them a question, the answer starts with “actually”. Translation: Don’t believe me. A big one is “My LL is a slam lord – I took him to court and won” (thank you for the information)
57. “We need more space.”
58. “My landlord won’t fix anything.”
59. “My fiancé and I live with his/her parents and we need to move.”
60. “The swat team just smashed all the windows out of my current rental and arrested my husband and I need a place ASAP.” (true caller)
61. “I have black mold in my current place.”
62. It’s for me and my partner and my friend and her boyfriend.”
63. I’m on parole and need a place before I can be released.”
64. “I’m looking for a place for my son because I want him out of my house!”
65. Sex offenders. Everyone with the Internet loves to look up the sex offender list and see who’s in your neighborhood. If they find one in your house the neighbors will make your life miserable.
66. Prospective tenants with unpaid judgments or collections.
67. Someone whose plan to get into my place was to stiff their current landlord on the last month’s rent to have the deposit to move into mine.
68. I don’t rent to the little hard-bodies that come by in yoga pants or their gym gear, and think that will make me more likely to relax the terms of the lease (deposit, rent, pets, etc). I live in a college town, and have had a couple try that on me.
69. Section eight people. They trash the place and lie about who is really living there.
70. Welfare people.
This list is not complete.
I’m sure you have your own pet reasons for rental applicant turndowns. The point is that we each have different experiences and we all feel justified in our opinions. BTW, it is not discrimination when bad things happen and you try to prevent them from happening again.
Some of my examples
Police don’t frighten me because I had a NYS Trooper (police) who was a great tenant.
The future is unknown and sometimes the right decision turns bad. I currently have a tenant who had paid me six month’s rent plus two months security, in advance – and now pays bi-weekly because the tenant can’t gather enough monies to pay rent monthly.
Another tenant, on my Non-Option-Option to Purchase agreement has been renting from me for eight years. This tenant has accumulated about $20,000 in rental credits towards a down payment, but hasn’t been able to clean up their credit in order to buy the house. Something always happens to put them behind, the car engine, temporary job loss, etc. They stay in the house, paying about $500 over the monthly market rent because they have built up a “savings account” that they don’t want to lose. Life is complicated.
What’s going on with tenants?
It wasn’t always so bad. The tenant rental pool has deteriorated considerably. The quality of tenant is much lower now than it was 20 and 30 years ago. People without high education cannot get decent paying jobs because of the huge number of unskilled but decent factory jobs that have gone overseas. And, people with high education find it difficult to get jobs in their fields because these technical jobs are also being contracted overseas.
It will only get worse
The newly created TPP, Trans Pacific Partnership, trade agreement has a provision that allows US companies to import workers from a foreign country and pay them at the wage of that foreign country. I suspect that is one of the reasons why President Obama has just scheduled a trip to Vietnam. He will codify the number of low wage but skilled workers that will be allowed to come to America under TPP auspices.
Flipping is the answer
When someone says “real estate investing” most think of being a landlord. The idea is that rental real estate is an attractive investment that gives off predictable cash flow over the long term. It’s seen as being like a bond, just cash in the coupon every month.
Very often this is often not true. With rentals you constantly have issues with Tenants, Toilets, Termites and Trouble. Instead of going into the myriad of things that can and do go wrong with rentals, I will simply state that you should speak with landlords and then consider an alternative real estate investing strategy.
Consider flipping, buying low and then selling higher.
The average first time profit of a Coach Mitch student is over $20,000. This sum is more profit than many years of accumulated profit from a rental. Additionally, it is a significant lump sum, versus the dribs and drabs of profit from a rental. Ask yourself, what sort of investing can you do with $200 per month positive cash flow? Now ask yourself, what can you do with $20,000? The answer should be obvious.
With flipping, you are in, you get out, and you cash a big check – without all the issues of tenancy.
The thing about flipping –
Question: The only issue with flipping is – can you buy a property low enough so that you can sell it high enough to make $20,000 profit?
Answer: Of course you can! The best way is to implement a real estate investing system. It just happens that I make Coach Mitch’s “Ridiculously Simple System…”⁜ available to you.
I deal in and teach how you can deal in tax delinquent property. FACT: The tax delinquent is the most motivated of all motivated sellers.© Therefore, you have the best chance at getting a great deal. If you want to give real estate investing your best shot, then get Coach Mitch’s “Ridiculously Simple System…”⁜ .
G-d Bless US –
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