Your wacky applicant/ tenant stories

I had an applicant for a nice apartment in a middle class area. First she called to set up the viewing and kept breaking off to scream at people in the background, always a great sign. Then she asked weird questions like "Do you rent to black people?" and repeatedly asking me to explain what neighborhood the apt was in. Of course I already knew I wasn't going to rent to her but I had a feeling this could be a setup from Fair Housing so I agreed to the viewing.

By the time she turned up she was an hour late and had called me 4 times for directions (which I'd already given on the phone and were in the ad). She was wearing a sparkly gold boob tube and a fake-leather skirt. She took a cursory glance around the apartment, sat down on the current tenant's sofa, put her feet on the tenant's coffee table (!), and said "I work in a strip club. Is that ok?" I almost said no but the phrase "lawful source of income" suddenly ran through my mind and I had a vision of trying to explain to a judge why I was discriminating in violation of federal law. So I said yes, at which point she told me that she always paid the rent on time but sometimes she brought her work home with her. At this point I had to control myself from busting out laughing.

Luckily I never got an application from her so I never had to find a reason to reject her. I still don't know whether she was a hired actress from Fair Housing who was playing an offensive stereotype to gauge my reaction, or she was really living that life.

I don't understand why you would have denied her if she passed all of your rental criteria? Legally you can't not rent to someone just because you don't like their behavior, what they do for a living, and how they dress. Do not ever under estimate your prospective residents and current residents as they can become powerful allies for you. How do you know that person was not your new owner,regional, asset manager etc and just trying to see your reaction to a person who may not fit your standards? Even when we don't think we are doing it our body language can give off a negative attitude and this can hurt you in a sale. I don't see how your experience with this person is funny. Even strippers deserve a nice place to live regardless of what they do for a living.

Well, Walter, if you manage a small building in which you live yourself, you might be able to choose your tenant based on who gets there first and gives you a Security Deposit or a less stringent selection method. But a lot of us work in communities in which if someone walks through the door, meets our corporate Resident Selection Criteria, fills out the application and places the required monies down to secure the available apartment, then our personal opinion has no bearing at all on the decision to rent to him/her. I think we all would like to think we keep our own biases out of the equation but lucky for everyone, we have Fair Housing laws to ensure people are treated in a consistent manner, fairly. Besides, what have you got against Strippers? I have rented to those in that profession and never had a problem, except once, one moved out and left the Pole installed in the bedroom.

Beware of the SHOPPERS!!! Just an FYI...there not only set up through Fair Housing but the employers are doing this also, to see how their employees are treating customers. I have been shopped too many times to count and the first sign of a shopper, would be the "strange but in detail" questions. Ya know, the ones you feel uncomfortable answering? Word to the wise, just realizing that you had just been shopped, does not mean you won or aced it, because shoppers are grading you from the moment you pick up that phone. So, just try to be ready for them and when you hear them ask the weird question, answer it the correct way and then make sure you are asking them every question that is listed on your cheat sheet or guest card. Oh, and always make sure you do a follow up call or email to them because most phone shoppers will make an appointment but will not keep it and if you fail to follow up, they'll take off a lot of points. If you have any questions you want to ask me, I'll be glad to help!!

I have rented to 2 strippers. Strange, but they ended up in the same unit. Both were late payers and skipped before their lease was up.

I had complaints from neighbors for both of them. They were very young and had a lot of company. One wore her bathing suit around the property. Guess she was working on her tan.

They were also both single moms. One let her 3 year old run around the property by himself nearly every day. I finally discovered her drug-addict mother was babysitting while this was occuring. I didn't say a word, just kept an eye on him.

It's not so much what they do, it's the fact their income is irregular. The first one left all kinds of interesting items in her apartment when she skipped.

A lot of broken furniture, pot, bongs and outfits she obviously wore to work.

I also found a stack of letters from someone who was in prison. Of course, I read through one and it was disgusting!

The second stripper left suddenly because her boyfriend's mother committed suicide and she wanted to move in with him and his dad to take care of them. Both of them showed up at my door less than a year later looking for an apartment. One paid what she owed, but the other didn't.

I liked both of them very much, they were very nice girls.