Prospective halfway house family to become my tenants

[Deactivated] on 16/03/2015 - 14:41

Title is a little bit hard to phrase better, so I'll explain here. My current tenant who lives under me is moving out in April, so I have put the place up for advertisement. I received half a dozen calls in the first couple of days, all of which said "we will get back to you" or that they needed a place sooner than April.

Today one couple turned up, the woman looks very skinny, without trying to stereotype but her skinniness is uncanny to the Hollywood style heroin addicts. The boyfriend/husband looks healthy, and rather large, but not over-the-top-roiding-my-life-away large. They had a look around and instantly liked the place, saying:

"This is huge! At the moment we are staying at XXXXX (can't remember which name it was) halfway house, we have to share a space the size of this bedroom with 9 people, and we have two daughters around 12 years old" They then agreed to come back tomorrow with a week's rent as a deposit for me to hold the unit for them (which will then be their first week's rent if they move in, or forfeited if they change their mind to make up for my lost advertising time/lost rent).

That worried me a little, I didn't pry further (but plan to do so when I next see them tomorrow). My knowledge of halfway houses is limited to pedestrian levels, but I can assume it is either a prison halfway house or a drug rehab halfway house, neither of which is good.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for giving people chances when they are down on their luck. But I also don't want my unit to be turned into a drug den, get raided by the police or rent being skipped.

Questions:
Is it worth giving this family a chance? The rent will be $400 a week which includes all the bills.
If they stop paying, how hard is it to have them removed, and recover any costs associated with possible damage?
They said they can provide references, is this something that halfway houses do to give their residents a good chance of moving out, even if they are tenants from hell? Or would these be genuine references that I can take in good faith?
Any questions I should ask them tomorrow, or any rules I should make sure to write up and get signed (such as no smoking indoors etc).

Home & Garden

Comments

  • jaybmate on 16/03/2015 - 14:56
    +2

    get a decent sized bond.

    • [Deactivated] on 16/03/2015 - 15:10
      +1

      Definitely taking the maximum (4 weeks for under $700/w), would do it with any tenant to be safe.

  • toniyellow on 16/03/2015 - 15:51
    +2

    I like the idea of giving someone a chance. You might find out if you give them a break they will be grateful, helpful tenants.

    But if I understand it correctly, you live in a unit/house above/adjacent to the property to rent. So it is not only loss of money you would face if you need to evict them, but also loss of peace and quiet where you live.

    I would at least - meet the children, and see if they are quiet, or monsters that would cause damage. It might be hard to determine at the first meeting though. Let them into the backyard or wherever whilst you talk to the parents and see how they play.

    Do the parents have a job? How do they propose to pay for the rent? If they are on Centrelink, is a guaranteed benefit or will it stop being paid if they don't participate in job-seeking activities?

    Insert some sort of clause about reasonable use of utilities if you don't have one already, in case they run a space heater all winter.

    Perhaps call the tenants union, as if you were a tenant on welfare about to be evicted and see what rights they tell you that you have.

    • [Deactivated] on 16/03/2015 - 16:40

      Very good points. Will definitely watch the children if they show up tomorrow, and ask the parents about their financial status.

      Had a look at a RTA fact sheet for tenants, so far it looks like they could drag it out for a month max of no rent. 7 days late payment gets 7 days notice to pay, then notice to leave which can take up to 14 days to be enforced by police once the tribunal orders the possession. That leaves $0 in the bond to cover any damage after taking rent out. Not too bad I suppose, hoping it won't have to come to that though.

      Thank you.

  • [Deactivated] on 16/03/2015 - 21:14
    +2

    I see you from Brissy, here's a website about tenants and related stuff. http://tenantsqld.org.au/info-for-tenants/tenancy-facts/

    You should insist on advance payment of rent, at least three business days in advance. Make sure you have a written agreement. But really you must think of all the additional stress and time wasted if you had a bad tenant. If they don't pay, you need to go to the tribunal. Wait 14 days of no rent, give them notice of another 14 days. All the arguing, stress and unpleasantness living with someone below you. Definitely take your time to find a tenant you like and perhaps get references, I rather forgo two weeks worth of rent than deal with that.

    Make sure you're advertising on good sites as well. Try university accommodation websites. Lots of students are great, they don't stay at home all day and are out and about with their daily activities.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/03/2015 - 23:23

      Excellent source and advice, thank you.

      Unfortunately (or fortunately?) they didn't respond to my text yesterday, and didn't show up the scheduled 4PM meeting today. Looks like they made my decision for me, which is always the easiest way!

      Thank you all for the advice, much appreciated.

  • rowenaduncan on 20/03/2015 - 16:53

    My Aunt used to insist on meeting any potential tenants at THEIR current residence. She says its a good way to tell whether they look after the place. There's "clean", and there's "clean because someone's visiting". Also allows to see any current damage in their residence.

    • [Deactivated] on 02/05/2015 - 12:42

      I completely missed this comment, sorry! That's a great idea, I will start doing it in future. Thank your aunt for me!

    • sweefu on 05/05/2015 - 16:50

      If I applied to rent a house and the landlord wanted to meet me at my current house, I would walk away. That reeks of a controlling, terrible landlord.

      • rowenaduncan on 05/05/2015 - 17:27

        And what is wrong with wanting some control over who rents your house? Meeting you at your place doesn't give any extra rights to your landlord. You still have the same rights as every other legal tenancy (including a right to privacy). All it is, in my Aunt's opinion, is peace of mind right from the beginning. If you want to hide your current house, you must be hiding a hovel. Or a paranoia. Personally, I have rented a few places over the years, and I would have no problem whatsoever with any potential landlord showing up at my place to sort the paperwork.

        • sweefu on 05/05/2015 - 17:37

          That attitude of "If you want to hide your current house, you must be hiding a hovel" is the problem. A landlord has no right to inspect prospective tenants lives like that.

          I have been a tenant, and I'm currently a landlord. I wouldn't dream of inspecting my prospective tenants current house. There is nothing wrong with controlling who rents your house; there is something wrong with subjecting prospective tenants to what is basically an inspection before they're even moved in.

          Again, if I was renting a house and landlord asked for this, I would walk away, and I think most people that weren't desperate for a house would too.

        • rowenaduncan on 05/05/2015 - 18:21

          And there is no problem with walking away either. I too have also been a landlord, and I was never been in the position of being able to pre-meet potential tenants. That did not work out well for me. It actually cost me a shitload of money.

          She was never talking about inspecting their current house - that would be rude - I agree. She was meaning you can generally tell when someone lives "untidily". Please don't make me use the term "redneck".

          If you want my opinion (I'm gonna give it to you anyway), the next time I personally decide to get tenants I will be asking not only to visit them at their house, but before it gets that far I will be asking to do both credit and police checks, and also for evidence of employment history. I know it sounds overboard, but it is my house, and if you don't like it, you can walk away too. I want someone who will stay put (employment), someone who can and will pay my rent/their bills (credit check), and I don't want my door busted down like my last rental (police check).

  • [Deactivated] on 07/05/2015 - 15:12
    +1

    The fact that the OP had to ask this question shows 'some' doubt/risk of the potential tenants.

    Also if things go bad, 7 weeks of no rent - minus Bond + smashed walls = financial disaster for owner (get landlords insurance).

  • FittyFitty on 09/02/2016 - 15:53

    Go through an agent man; don't need to put up with that shit…

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