Deanna, in another post you had mentioned about having a lot of dealings with those from South America. I assume that means the Spanish speaking crowed.

I have noticed that when I get these same people inquiring about my rental, they seem interested until it comes to having to pay the application fees. When I tell them that each adult has to pay for an application fee they never apply.

Do you experience the same thing?

If so, how to you solve it?

Thank you for your time.

I screen on criminal and income. Regardless of national origin, no one in my poor, rural area has good credit, or else they'd be a homeowner. Up until 2021, my area had a very stagnant population with nothing to draw that niche I'd target if I was still in Houston/Galveston or DFW-- people who would normally be homeowners, but don't intend to stay in the area long enough for homeowning to make sense.

So because I don't have the costs of running credit, and because I can run my criminal for free, and because I want to have as many applications as possible--- because there's a high chance the same people might apply for a house over several years and not get it for whatever reason but I still want to keep track of their story/stability over time--- I don't do application fees. Knowing who their employer is will tell me their legal status and work eligibility. Knowing their income gives me an idea of how much money they have to live their lives after paying rent. Seeing their previous addresses gives me an idea of their mobility. Seeing their work history gives me an idea as to whether they focus on living their lives or if they're always in turmoil.

I'm a little frustrated that I don't run things as rigidly as I would if I had a few million people in a 15-minute radius. Sometimes being flexible comes back to bite me. Sometimes people are reliable for a period, and then health issues crop up and it takes me a while to realize it's not a temporary setback that we cooperate together and get back to normal, but that I'm being taken advantage of.

So I'm not always the best person to copy because I don't do best-practices, but I do what's realistic for my area.

But that's also the answer to the question about application fees--- because I don't screen on credit or ask an application fee from anyone, that particular obstacle isn't an issue in that particular way.

Thank you WMH and Deanna.

One of those inquiries was concerned about credit checks because they don't really have credit history here and she had just gotten her first card.

Also, they tend to have lots of adults that will be living in one house which would mean lots of application fees.

Has this person had speeding ticket or any other minor violation? You could do a background check and see how well they paid the judge.

You might also want to consider, that if someone in their family might not be legally in the US. They might be afraid that is what you checking for.

Roy, thank you.

Zillow applications are not to be trusted completely for me.

I have seen a few of them, and for the most part it was easy to find missing information.

Personally, I do not want any financial connection between me and any applicant before I either approve or DQ them. I do not want to be accused of making a profit from collecting app fees and then DQing them. With Zillow pulling the credit report, instead of me, that gets me off the hook if I deny someone based on a horrible 400-500 Fico score.

My negativity about Zillow apps comes from the blatant mistakes I have found.

Mostly regarding evictions and court cases.

Zero,

It isn't the credit scores I fret over. I have never used them anyhow.

It is the missed evictions and other court cases that I find that bother me.