A local LL recent posted his open house on Facebook Marketplace - bring ID and $35 CASH per adult.

He had 75 people show Sat and Sun, and pay on the spot.

That was approx 32 couples, resulting in 2 good apps.

75 x $35 = $2625

Get paid fro your time!

BRAD

Thank you, Brad.

Is that how it is worded in the ad?

Or is it worded differently like: bring ID and $35 CASH per adult in case you want to apply. ?

He must have good salesmanship if he got every single person to fill out an application.

Also not sure if I want everyone from FB knowing the house is empty and casing the place.

May area is so small that there is no way I could get that quantity of people to even show interest, let alone show up.

Sounds like a good way to get the place burnt to the ground

by a disgruntled applicant.

And what kind of reputation does he have in the community?

In smaller and mid-sized markets, particularly in the Mid-West/South, your reputation can make or break you as a business owner. While the unqualified will always be knocking at your door and hand you $35, the qualified are very sensitive to reputation and quality and will bypass you in a heartbeat if they perceive you are anything but honorable and fair.

Some City's have laws governing fee's charged by landlords for screening tenancy "Credit and Background" checking. In my City, Los Angeles California, there are dollar limits as to what I can charge each candidate and what I can do with the money -- having to RETURN any unused portion.

AI Overview

Yeh...that doesn't seem quite right.

My thought- either don't charge an app fee.

Or, use a pre-qualifying form like I do.

As the song says, "Try that in a small town." Word gets around fast.

I don't need some broke person's grocery or gas money. And the good tenants won't pay it, because they are not desperate. So all you get are the desperate who don't qualify.

Like holding back Security Deposits for nothing burgers and making a tenant chase a LL for money rightfully due back, when LL knows the tenant has moved across the country and the cost of filing a case ends up almost equal to what they are due.

Unethical business practice.

I don't like taking anyone's money....that means I have to meet them first.

Interesting responses. Don't you want a lot of people wanting your rental so you can find a good one?

I posted about this method last year when he first did it.

But think...What's the difference from me getting 2 apps/day = 60/month or him getting a bunch up front??

His marketing of the Open House COMPRESSED a month of apps into 2 days. Why not?

The people were INSIDE the home, toured it, and wanted it,

He MET them face to face,

and THEY chose to apply

after seeing his written criteria on the app.

He DID screen each app, takes about a minute to look up their court records online. That one step eliminates about 90% of our apps, so not much time invested. 75 minutes?

Remember it was 75 PERSONS, mostly couples so 39? apps.

His reputation is offering great, clean homes that people really really want as evidenced by MORE THAN 75 people who showed up. (not everyone applied)

I applaud his effort and results.

BRAD

We all know the unrentables will apply not matter what the system.

If you've been a LL for any amount of time you are an expert in relation to YOUR business. Legit to charge for your time.

I'll refer folks to my post just under this one about Fair Housing Laws at Open Houses.

You CANNOT turn anyone away until you have their WRITTEN SIGNED application. Spoken words don't count. Looking at their dress, kids, or car does not legally count.

You MUST have their info in writing to document why you turned them down.

A phone interview or pre-qual IS a form of application and must be logged in to protect yourself in court.

BRAD

Like I said, I don't need broke person's grocery or gas money in exchange for me listening to another long and winding lie.

The whole reason for pre-screening is to avoid the long-winded lies and excuses to avoid wasting everyone's time.

You can do it on the phone or in person, or you can do it online via a form (which logs and saves their info and answers.)

Me, I do NOT want to talk to felons and fakes, I don't want to deal with the sob stories. The whole point of pre-screening is to SAVE MY TIME - let them screen themselves out (for free) and be done with it.

After reading WMH's response, another thing comes to mind.