powered by parents reference... would you accept that?
 

So im renting my apartment out since im leaving the country for awhile. I have the terms set to a 1 year lease. So far i have 3 potential tenants that are interested but one of them called back really set on renting the place out. I made her fill out an application form for reference checks n backgrounds. right away she asked if she needed to fill that out as she is only a student at UBC and her rent will come straight from her parents. To those that are more experienced with this sort of thing, would you consider her to be your renter or would you prefer otherwise? I dont want to judge especially since i was no different 12 years ago when i rented my first apartment for 5 years with my parent's help. I would appreciate some insight or opinion on this.

A tenant who has someone else signing rent checks will not be as accountable as someone signing them themselves, imo.

Give them a chance. I'd rather take a student who has parents paying rent on time then a person who wont. Also, if the terms are broken you have the right to evict right?

yea i thought about that too but then i also thought that being chinese (forgive the stereotype), especially a kid driving a white mercedes CLS would have a more solid financial background and be able to pay rent no problem regardless if its coming from parents.

yes! i have the terms set to an automatic eviction if tenant broke agreement.

..why don't you just get her parents to sign the form? They are the renters, she is the person living there.

at first i was :considered: and then i went :thumbs: and then i felt :megusta:

You'll definitely get the rent on time, but when I say accountability, I'm referring to the way the potential tenant treats the unit and respects neighbors. In the past, my friends who have been parent powered have more often been somewhat less responsible than those who were directly accountable for their actions.

It's not that difficult to find a tenant with solid references from prior landlords who can testify that the tenant has for years paid rent on time. Clearly you have significant interest in the unit, with three potential tenants already lined up.

My friend made the exact same decision/mistake as you're thinking of making, also based on stupid baseless stereotypes. His tenant would always have friends over, and they basically destroyed the place. Brand new apartment too.

It's the exact issue Mindbomber brought up - there is just no accountability. It's the same thing we see racists complain about all the time, these rich kids driving fancy cars and living in fancy homes, but they are still just stupid kids with no respect for what they have.

Base your decisions on the character of the person, not their race or the car they drive.

i think you should have them do a damage deposit and a one year rent deposit but this maybe illegal? that what my mum did with sketchy people who don't have good references.

Yea students are definately a gamble. Some are extremely respectful to their apartment while others don't give a shit. I have friends at UBC that rent out apartments at Chancellor and trash the hell out of it (parties, smoking, shoes on carpets). If going for a student, I would try to aim for a graduate student since they are much more mature generally.

or you can take a chance and rent it out to her but try to have a close friend or family member to do weekly check on the property.

we have rented to people who have their parents pay their rent.

it is really no different from those who pay rent themselves. i would suggest having one or both parents co-sign the lease agreement. This will allow you to contact them should the person living there violate the contract. It makes them liable and therefore, they will keep a close eye on their child. this also allows you to go after the parent should their be a violation.

it really has nothing to do with who pays the rent....it is up the the individual and how they were raised. i do not find it to be a greater risk when i rent to people in this situation.

also, in regards to EvoLove's suggestion of weekly inspections:

You can not do this. You can do a monthly inspections with 24-hr notice. If you are constantly checking the place, the tenant can file a case for harassment through the residential tenancy board. if you expect her to abide by the RTA she should expect the same from you.

you have to trust her. renting to anyone is a risk.

Illegal. The absolute max damage deposit that can be required up front is 1/2 of one month's rent. If they have a pet you can require a pet deposit which can also be up to 1/2 a month's rent.

http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/documents/F...ts/RTB-120.pdf

Mark

i think we have also learned not to take rental advice from EvoLove.

aww :okay:

at lease i tried...