Selecting a tenant single mother with existing broken lease and police incident

I've had neighbours complain to us about all sorts of things - including a tenant's cat going to the toilet on their side of the boundary, so sometimes worth taking with a grain of salt.

 

My only thought is that maybe neighbours overreacted and called the police. If thats the case then why not just provide an incident report.. it'll only help her cause. And why break the lease for that? Maybe I'm overthinking it...

 

I imagine it would be hard (likely impossible) for her to get the incident report if she wasn't the complainant.

Its pretty hard to get sometimes even if you are the complainant.

 

When I was a teenager the neighbour was constantly calling the police on my family for ‘loud parties’ and it was just my family having a bbq (think 5 people max and no music at about 6pm on a Sunday). The police still attended every time and then left disappointed.

I have had single mother’s as tenants before with young children and not regretted it so far. It sounds like it’s out of your comfort zone though so ask your agent to schedule another open.

 

So decided to give her a shot. But she doesnt want to secure the property with bond for another few weeks (could it be cash flow problems?) and is adamant on a start date almost one month from now. Wont even bring it forward 2-3 days. Seems too difficult!

 

This may sound harsh but I once rented to a single mum as preference over others and then I went overseas for a few years.......house wrecked, police called several times, neighbours hated me for renting to her etc etc. Turns out she invited the hubby back and they fought like cats and dogs.

Go the easy path, especially since you have options.

 

single mother in a blue chip suburb =
spends a lot of time working , little time parenting .

 

There are a few prejudiced opinions about single mothers in this thread.

Have we gone back in time to the 1920s without me noticing?

 

OK so we know she broke her lease early, had problems with the neighbours, had the cops called on her kids, is giving signs of cash flow problems, and want a start date a month down the track....

And you are still considering her application why? Are you familiar with the expression plenty more fish in the sea?

 

prejudiced/biased as they may be, investment is a business, OP needs to find the best tenant in his/PMs mind, and if its playing the odds, it is what it is, being politically correct doesnt pay the mortgage

 

A few years ago, my pm said i have a indigenous person application, and against stereotypes they are well spoken, clean, and well mannered, would you be willing to give them a go.

I did and they were great tenants, but had they not been good applicants i wouldnt have even entertained them.

That being said my next indigenous tenant absolutely trashed the place

 

Did you agree? I definitely wouldn't after finding that out especially in a popular area

 

No - she just got herself declined with that post.

 

Thanks to everyone for their opinions, it helped make our decision.
The only reason we gave any consideration to her application was because the agent was extremely pushy and really wanted her approved.. Like really really wanted it without even giving us a full picture. They refused to forward her application to us claiming privacy non sense. Wouldn't even tell us her salary or salary bracket except 'high income earner over 100k' wouldn't tell where she works or if they've even performed the tica checks. And they kept insisting that despite of break lease she has got a good recommendation from the current agent.
In the past our PMs in WA and NSW have been great and forwarded us applications with names removed with a checklist of what checks have been done for which applicant and who they would recommend.
I'm not sure if single income of over 100k with 2 kids would pay $800pw rent comfortably. I might be wrong but I didn't think 100k was high income bracket.

We approved her verbally on the agents extreme insistance but when she wanted to delay paying the bond to secure the property by a 'few weeks' and wouldn't agree to the tenancy date we told the agent to move on and reject her. Agent was annoyed and is now being strange(rude-ish).
I'm unsure why are they refusing any and all details of the tenants except first name and age. How do I make a decision without knowing their approx salary. Is this how things in qld are or am I being taken for a ride? I've asked them via email and haven't received a response yet.

 

Ugh, this rubbish again from PMs again. There's been threads on this, and the general consensus was that there was no legal justification to withhold any details from the landlord. I would press your PM on this.

Anyway, I was on board with giving her a chance before, but the inability to get the bond together and also not being able to move in for quite a while is probably a deal breaker.

 

so there is your answer
get rid of the tenant
and get rid of the PM

 

I would have thought that the agent should have enough nouse to require a bond/holding deposit or tell the prospect that they'd keep the application alive whilst they kept showing the place.

If she was accepted and doesn't front in 3 weeks time, you're stuck in a big rent loss situation.

 

That's a bit of a stereotype.

What about the two parent families - dad's always at work in order to fund the high-income lifestyle, while mum's out at the gym and busy 'doing coffee and lunch with the girls' or getting her nails done?! Again, another stereotype, but hopefully it makes my point. Someone's marital status is no reflection on their ability to maintain a house or to be a good parent.

 

Mate, Sack the agent. It looks he/ she is doing the drama. 100k bracket is not really high income for 800pw property. I would ask entire details from agent, including signed contract once they sign. I just smash them if they don’t. Your property and your money, they are your employees. They can’t be your boss for you to worry, few things they are.