For those of you who rent to students, do you ask for their scholastic school records? Is this considered a privacy issue?

I normally don’t do this as I’ve never felt a need to however, I recently got an inquiry for a room from a young woman and I’m a bit suspect about her story.

She said she goes to one of the colleges and she is in mechanical engineering. I asked her what year and she told me she was a freshman.

Her reason for wanting to move was being in a relationship with her boyfriend and finding out certain things about him and she needs to move ASAP however a few things don’t add up when I asked her some questions. I suppose it wouldn’t matter if she were a student or not me I just want to make sure that she’s truthful about all this before I make a decision, that’s why I want to ask about her scholastic record.

In NY even PARENTS who are PAYING their kids way are not allowed any info from the uni w/o the KID'S permission

My main tenants are all students as I live close to two universities. That’s right, she would have a student ID and I could certainly ask for that as I ask for drivers licenses as well.

Relationship with Boyfriend went South so that’s her need to move but will definitely will be doing more background checks.

Will need her application to know her true age. Usually Freshman are around 19 years old and she mentioned she was with her boyfriend for five years which would make her 14 but she may be older and may be truthful in everything. Just have to wait to check things out.

Mapleaf18 wrote "In NY even PARENTS who are PAYING their kids way are not allowed any info from the uni w/o the KID'S permission"

And that's the way it should be. Too many helicopter parents out there. Yes, I get that they paid, but that payment is between them and their parents -- it shouldn't give them access to the kid's records.

Just like if you had a tenant who was late with the rent and their friend handed you cash for the rent that month. It doesn't magically give that friend access to their apartment or even any records about previous payments.

Similar, if a person goes to a hospital for something -- even if they are still on their parents insurance because they are 23 years old -- that still doesn't give their parents access to their health records.

Yes I understand the privacy issues and I believe a student ID would have been just fine however, she texted me about 20 minutes ago and told me that she had already found another place.

Just a word of caution on boyfriends, had a similar situation, and she ended up still with the boyfriend for 3 more years before dumping him. No real way to know if something is just an argument that will turn around, which could have happened in this case.

I ask for them to get a copy of their current unofficial transcript, which they can download free from the student info system. I explain I want it as I don’t accept students currently on academic probation or academic deficiencies, as the likelihood of them breaking the lease is high.

I don’t do parent co-signers, but do require a copy of the annual student financial aid award letter.

Dee Ann, yes you’re correct about the Boyfriend thing. After she told me the situation I mentioned to her that I would be concerned about the boyfriend possibly showing up and she assured me no he wouldn’t well I don’t have to worry about that now.

Small potatoes - every school is different.

Our local U requires those with under 60 credit hours to live on campus, unless they are over age 21 or have a parent or grandparent who lives locally (defined by the school based on county) or they have a child, or they are married, or they fill out the right form and get it approved.

We as landlord are not supposed to discriminate based on legal income. So when a scholarship student applies to my rental, listing that as a major part of their income, I look at their credit report as guidance to their money management skills.

I had one dumb kid apply for a two bedroom. Just him. He was going to rent out the two bedroom and live in the dinning area, real estate as another source of income. So he did not have a dime to his name and was already $30,000 in debt. A new car. Student loans and credit cards.

Jim, the college records are part of the alternative screening for a student applicant who does not have employment to use to qualify. I’ve been using my alternative screening tools for about 20 years.

The student financial aid award letter tells their financial story. Since most of my student applicants don’t show up in a credit database yet, or if they do their credit history is so short it doesn’t really matter, their SFA award letter tells me the info I need.

If the student is Pell Eligible, particularly if they receive a supplemental state grant, the student’s family financial situation is such that the parents likely cannot help them out if they run short. The family just doesn’t have the $$$. BUT if the student is Pell Eligible, then it means the university is likely offering them a financial aid package sufficient to cover their expected cost of attendance. It is likely a package of grants, loans and scholarships, but there should be enough to cover their tuition and living expenses. For many of these students, they will write a check to cover 6 months of rent as soon as their financial aid refund shows up.

If the student is only awarded an Unsubsidized Loan, then that often means the family has the financial resources to cover their tuition. It may mean I need to do a little more inquiry to find out how they pay their bills. This may include asking for bank statements, etc. sometimes it means a parent will simply write me a check for rent for the year term.

I ask for transcripts because it tells me what kind of student I’m dealing with. Our local U uses a 4.0 GPA system. If a student has under a 2.0 that means they are not passing their classes,not making progress toward graduation. I don’t want that student, they will vanish and leave me hanging.

To be honest, I don’t want a student with under a 2.5 because the student can so easily slip low and vanish. They may be partying, they may just not be interested in what they are studying. Either way, I’m not interested.

I’m looking for student tenants with a 2.75 GPA or above and who have a good mix of academic scholarships that they study hard to keep. I’m looking for graduate students who will be here for 3-5 years and have a funded position as a research assistant or teaching assistant.

Jo,

Rent to Music Majors. As a Music Major I was never home, always at rehearsals and practice rooms until midnight and later. 1 credit hour of ensemble was 4 hours per week in rehearsal.

The guys working the desk in my dorm did not even know I loved there. Wifey and I dated by taking walks after midnight. (It worked!)

LIVED!

Well I guess I loved there too!

Once you get a music student they will bring more.

We have several rentals that have been always rented by college students. We LOVE to rent to engineering students--they are in a program where they can not afford the time to party too much--often have intern jobs in the summer that pay $40k, and are garnishable after they graduate.