Sometimes I have people apply for our spaces that work an hour's drive from the unit, not counting summer traffic which can add HOURS to the commute.

Especially when they apply this time of year, I know they are just desperate for housing and will take anything, but will continue to look for a more convenient place.

I usually can reject them for other reasons, but do you think I am within my rights to reject them simply based on my assumption/knowledge that they will NOT stay long-term?

And for a completely different reason: is it possible to reject someone based solely on a very recent separation - meaning they are just moving out? I have accepted this a few times and it has never worked out. Either they get back together or they simply can't afford to live on their own, having been used to a joint income.

On the separation thing, we had a woman who swore up and down she was divorcing her husband, and would NEVER go back to him. I even spoke with her at length that this was a year long lease, a binding contract. Not going back to him, she says.

Fast forward 6 weeks -- get an e-mail wanting to know how she can get out of her lease. Reminded her that she had a year long contract, that her options were help us find a QUALIFIED tenant to take over (meaning, we would let her out of her lease if we could re-rent it right away and sign a new QUALIFIED tenant to a new lease, go back to her husband, and pay the rent on our apartment until we could find a QUALIFIED tenant, pay $1,500 buyout of her contract, or go to court over the broken lease.

Crickets for about 5 months and then get an e-mail from her that she could "no longer do this" and she had moved out. Reiterated the above options to her. Six months left on lease. Never did find anyone to take over that particular apartment (we had a couple of other empties in the complex.

At the what would have been the end of her lease, we sent her a letter for the months that the apartment was empty during the remainder of her lease, and demanded payment. No response. So we took her to small claims court and got a judgement. She is now paying $20 a week towards her bill -- will take well over a year to get it paid off.

We look at separating couples very hard and find another reason not to rent to them any more. Not worth the turnover.

I don't like recent separations, but I do take them. I dislike even more the long commutes. The first question in my pre-screen is "What area are you looking to live in?"

Very often they mention towns and cities that are 2 hours from my units. Then I tell them the distance and they are ok with that. Now why on earth would they move to a $550 unit 2 hours from their job? An even worse response is when the prospect tells me that they want to live ANYWHERE in Pa! Yeah, ok pal. That's when I switch into "dead man walking" mode and screen them out during the pre-screen.

If they don't have a bonafide reason to be moving to the town the unit is in, I'm not messing with them. I don't want mid-life crisis wanderers bringing drama.

I've had a lot of trouble with the newly separated. Either they don't stay, or they are crippled baby birds whose spouse did absolutely everything for them and they mistakenly think it is a landlord's duty to take over that job.

I think I'd be careful about rejecting for that reason. Not a protected class,but some judges are happy to expand rights to only-sort-of-related groups, and I feel this group is high risk of a clash with a liberal judge.

I've had a lot of trouble with the newly separated. Either they don't stay, or they are crippled baby birds whose spouse did absolutely everything for them and they mistakenly think it is a landlord's duty to take over that job.

I think I'd be careful about rejecting for that reason. Not a protected class,but some judges are happy to expand rights to only-sort-of-related groups, and I feel this group is high risk of a clash with a liberal judge.

Well I would think being concerned with how someone plans to get to work is a worthy consideration. Why? It potentially affects their ability to pay.

I know people in larger cities commute for hours, but usually that is traffic rather than distance related, isn't it? In this one case, the unit is across the Sound from where he will be working, so no shortcuts unless he gets a boat LOL! So he has to drive south down the mainland, cross the bridge to island and drive back up north to get to almost the most northern part of the habitable area of the island.

It's 55+ miles even before you factor in traffic. He will have to cross through a few towns with 25 mph speed limits and TONS of summer traffic.

No way he stays for longer than the summer. Then he will move to a winter rental on island and hope to find something else next spring.

Some years ago we were in Va. Beach and next day we were to go to family in NoVA, Manassas area. The route was North West then to 95 North.

Got up at 2AM figuring a 3 hour drive with no'sparse commuter traffic, knowing that the Beltway Bound folks stacked up horribly.

When we got to the junction we were shortly into HEAVY traffic and I figured there was some sort of construction/accident....something. Came to find out that it was the pe0ple from Fredericksburg area that did that EVERY DAY and endured a 3hour commute to DC.

I think it depends on what you consider an acceptable commute. As a person who lived downtown and worked downtown my concept of acceptable would be very different from someone who commuted from a far out suburb to downtown. Mine would be a 15-20 minute walk theirs would be 1.5 hour drive or train ride.

In selling and in renting I've always found people choose locations first and foremost on the features of a neighborhood and economics rather than on commute time.

Provided he has enough income, job stability, excellent credit, I would take a situation like this solely because of elt.

I am amazed at the inquiries we get from the Charlottesville area, because they see the amounts of rent, $500.00-650.00, but they fail to factor in the hour commute and the expense involved. I put the name of the locale, and they are too dumb or lazy to google/mapquest it. So when I ask them if they realize how far it is? Most of the time they say no, or they are just desperate and don't care. If they are willing to say anything to get in, better look long and hard at it.

WMH do you have leases or m2m? If they are M2M I totally understand the want and need of a "long term tenant" but at the same time - what's the point of doing M2M if you really want a long term tenant? Maybe have them sign a 6 month?

My thoughts on the Long Commute would be more in line of WHY they would want to (maybe they have family/friends in the area or (and maybe even moreso) they like your area). Aren't you near the water? If I had to "commute" 50 minutes to work but lived near the water - I'd do it.

I have tenants right now that I placed that he's a good 30 - 40 minutes from his job (I know - to you it's "not the same" but I did ask why just the same). His response was that he was a police officer and doesn't want to live (shop) where he arrests people. Don't blame him!

I don't have M2M, only Annual Leases. Especially this time of year, when we get a lot of people coming to the beach to work just for the summer. They lie and say they are staying long term but don't, and end up moving out in Fall, which is a terrible time to rent here.

The available place isn't on the water. It's a in Class C/D neighborhood although the apartment is nice. He wants it sight unseen (moving from another area) because of a separation...so a double whammy against him: long commute AND separation.

Couldn't you double his deposit then? If he is THAT desperate then say "fine ... here are the terms". IF you even want him.

Concerning the recent separation, I've only had one person who was in that situation who qualified on paper. BUT - I'm a bit of a federal income tax nerd, and knew that the question of which of the joint custody parents would get the majority custody for tax purposes could be a deal-breaker.

If my prospect did not get the child care and personal deductions for the kids, she would not be able to meet all of her obligations. As she was otherwise an excellent prospect, I asked her if she'd be able to borrow the 6 month's rent from someone to pay up front (which took her a month or so past the final decrees).

She was able to do that, and we set her up with a 6 month lease, which then would go MTM (in case she did NOT get the majority custody). As PA requires that there be some sort of monetary advantage to the tenant if the rent is paid more than 2 months up front (as in a discount), we waived the usual 10% extra per month for short term rentals.

Well, I live about 45 min from my day job. I hope someone would not deny me as a tenant based just on that, assuming I otherwise qualified with good income and rental history.