“All of the other reindeers
used to laugh and call him names. They
never let poor Rudolph play in any reindeer games.
… then all the reindeers loved
him, and they shouted out with glee (whoo-pee!). Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, you’ll go
down in history!”
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
by Billy Gilman
Rudolph had a tough gig before
becoming a legendary Christmas icon and saving Christmas one year. Piecing together various biographical sources
on Rudolph, it is clear he had a privileged, yet difficult, childhood. Through his envied bloodline (the son of
famed Donner and the beautiful doe, Mrs. Donner), he had both the connections
and proximity to Santa to have a great life and career. But the dreaded red nose seemingly doomed him
to a life of ridicule and parental shame leading to his estrangement from the
North Pole elite. He found solace in the
company of societal undesirables (among them a dentist!) before the serendipitous
approach of uncommon foggy weather one Christmas Eve. Santa took a chance on him and it paid off in
spades. The rest, as they say, is
history.
When Rudolph was on the road with
the undesirables, no one really knew his skills and upbringing (the bloodline,
the advanced reindeer training, his untapped flight ability, etc.); they just
knew he was sad, unwanted, and unloved.
He couldn’t pull out his press clippings from his pockets (no pants) or
pull it up on the internet (no Wi-Fi on the Island of Misfit Toys
Rudolph was a great reindeer; he
just couldn’t prove it.
As Charlotte property
managers, we get applicants who could be great tenants, but they can’t
prove it. And we want to be sure they
would be before we approve them to live in one of our client’s rental houses,
but the applications sometimes don’t reveal much.
For example, on our four main tenant
screening requirements, we may receive a prospective tenant application with
the following information:
1. Credit report: very little to no credit
history
Tenant explanation: “I don’t like
debt. I pay everything with cash.”
2. Landlord history: scattered to none
Tenant explanation: “I lived with
family or moved in with a significant other.
I was not on a lease or a mortgage.”
3. Criminal report: nothing comes up
Tenant explanation: “I’m an
outstanding citizen!” (Kudos!)
4. Income: no paystubs available
Tenant explanation: “I’m a small business
owner or do work under the table.”
So what to do? Much like Rudolph, there’s very little
information to go on. The tenant is
basically “unverifiable”.
This is where it is easy as a
property manager to punt and just reject the applicant. There are a lot of fish in the sea and a
verifiable tenant will probably be in contact soon. Besides, there is a lot to lose. If the unverifiable tenant pays rent and
everything goes fine, then everyone is happy.
But if things go south, clients will understandably ask for details
about the tenant screening. “What do you
mean you accepted a tenant with no verifiable information? Remind me why I hired you???? Did you flip a coin on whether to approve
them?”
So what to do?
1. Verify everything you can. Get bank statements and W-2s. Money is usually traceable in some form.
2. Collect 2 months security deposit and as much
upfront rent as possible in certified funds.
3. Ask a lot of questions and do Google
searches. Unconventional tenants can
require unconventional screening methods.
What does their social media accounts say about them?
We’ve found some great, long-term
tenants that other landlords have rejected due to them being unverifiable. We’ve also walked away from some that we just
couldn’t get a good read on.
Santa gave Rudolph a chance, and
Christmas was saved. It is sometimes
wise to give unverifiables a second look so rent is coming in during Christmas
on your rental home.
Happy landlording!
Brett Furniss is the head property manager of BDF Realty
(Charlotte
Residential Property Management), the trusted real estate advisor for Charlotte
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