Landlords: Would you rent to a family who had been foreclosed?

[Anonymous]

Am wondering if you would? If you have any experiences, please share...

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

In DC, hell no. In VA/MD, maybe. I'd ask for a larger deposit, etc.

[Anonymous]

Nope. Not a chance. Take the time to find the right person, then treat them well. It makes landlording the easiest business around. (11 years, 7 properties, no problems). I'd rather leave it vacant than rent to the wrong candidate, and it's served me well over the years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Not a chance. Take the time to find the right person, then treat them well. It makes landlording the easiest business around. (11 years, 7 properties, no problems). I'd rather leave it vacant than rent to the wrong candidate, and it's served me well over the years.

Is this your main job or hobby/part-time. I am in similar position w/multiple rentals.

[Anonymous]

No, I wouldn't. I only have one property that is particularly well-located so I can be picky. If I couldn't be picky, who knows? That just seems like such a obvious, relevant risk.

[Anonymous]

only if it was a hard-to-rent property and i needed a tenant. I would probably ask for large deposit though.

[Anonymous]

If you paid the entire year amount up front

[Anonymous]

Some people foreclose on a house for different reasons. My mom foreclosed on a house, Detroit-area though, but always paid her mortgage on time. She had gotten ripped off by a contractor and she didn't have the money to re-do the repairs. Had to let the house go. Anyway, some people foreclose for different reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:only if it was a hard-to-rent property and i needed a tenant. I would probably ask for large deposit though.

+1

[Anonymous]

No way!! History of not paying bills is very important to me. I don't appreciate people living in a house while someone else foots the bill.

[Anonymous]

Foreclosed on primary residence or investment properties?

If it's primary, no no no no no.

[Anonymous]

We're they upfront about it or did it come up on credit check. I think a lot has to do with the family, their explanation but if you have to choose between a family that foreclosed and a family without this, I'd choose the other family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some people foreclose on a house for different reasons. My mom foreclosed on a house, Detroit-area though, but always paid her mortgage on time. She had gotten ripped off by a contractor and she didn't have the money to re-do the repairs. Had to let the house go. Anyway, some people foreclose for different reasons.

Still not a good history , except she blames others

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Not a chance. Take the time to find the right person, then treat them well. It makes landlording the easiest business around. (11 years, 7 properties, no problems). I'd rather leave it vacant than rent to the wrong candidate, and it's served me well over the years.

Is this your main job or hobby/part-time. I am in similar position w/multiple rentals.

I'm a SAHM and but I'd still say part-time for sure. There are busy times when I might work 3 or 4 hours a day but those days are rare. I would estimate I spend about 5 hours a week, on the average. I have lockboxes on all the houses and a tested, trusted team of repair-people so if something breaks I can send the repair-people in without visiting the property myself. We fix things right away, replace appliances as they age, keep the houses updated with new carpet and paint (we just replaced a perfectly functional but UGLY kitchen including cabinets, counters, and flooring), and treat the tenants with respect. In return, we expect rent the DAY it's due, choose tenants carefully before they move in, and expect the house and outside (and neighbors) to be treated with respect. It's been great.

Everyone I know who has a horror story has skipped several steps in the "due diligence" process of picking tenants. I swear I don't even need to run a background check anymore, I've done this so much. Do they show up at the open house during the advertised hours? Are they neatly dressed? Do they ask normal questions? Do they fill out forms correctly? If we have a meeting, are they on-time? Did they get lost on the way? I swear that's 90% of the screening process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Not a chance. Take the time to find the right person, then treat them well. It makes landlording the easiest business around. (11 years, 7 properties, no problems). I'd rather leave it vacant than rent to the wrong candidate, and it's served me well over the years.

Is this your main job or hobby/part-time. I am in similar position w/multiple rentals.

I'm a SAHM and but I'd still say part-time for sure. There are busy times when I might work 3 or 4 hours a day but those days are rare. I would estimate I spend about 5 hours a week, on the average. I have lockboxes on all the houses and a tested, trusted team of repair-people so if something breaks I can send the repair-people in without visiting the property myself. We fix things right away, replace appliances as they age, keep the houses updated with new carpet and paint (we just replaced a perfectly functional but UGLY kitchen including cabinets, counters, and flooring), and treat the tenants with respect. In return, we expect rent the DAY it's due, choose tenants carefully before they move in, and expect the house and outside (and neighbors) to be treated with respect. It's been great.

Everyone I know who has a horror story has skipped several steps in the "due diligence" process of picking tenants. I swear I don't even need to run a background check anymore, I've done this so much. Do they show up at the open house during the advertised hours? Are they neatly dressed? Do they ask normal questions? Do they fill out forms correctly? If we have a meeting, are they on-time? Did they get lost on the way? I swear that's 90% of the screening process.

PS, at the beginning when we first started this process, I obviously worked a LOT more. Got lawyers to draft forms, read multiple books on landlording, learning about DC laws, etc. 5 hours a week is only the fruits of the work I put in at the beginning. HTH!