0 for 4

I had another woman apply to rent my nice 3 bedroom house today. From the time I talked to her on the phone, I wasn't impressed. She was just...wierd. Her mannerisms were odd. I know that's not very objective, but I trust my instincts.

When I met her at the property, my suspicions were only amplified. She WAS wierd. She brought a plastic grocery bag with dozens of her "husband's" pay stubs. In addition, she brought three envelopes - one with $600, one with$80, and one with $100 (which wasn't the amount needed to rent the house anyway). Wierd! Why was she trying so hard to prove she could afford the house?

At any rate, I MIGHT not deny someone for being wierd if everything else is OK. So, I had her fill out an application. As I reviewed the application with her. I noticed that she had listed 3 addresses in 2006, including a house she claimed to have bought and then sold. When I asked to see her driver's license, I noticed it listed yet another (4th) address and that it was issued in 2006. I questioned her about all of these addresses and she admitted to moving 4 times in 2006! That is not a good sign that she will stay a long time in my rental.

When I got back home, I ran her screening. She didn't have any criminal activity - GOOD! Her "husband" (shack up boyfriend) had several domestic violence and other criminal activity, but all if it was at least 6 years old. I called her current landlord. He said that she had not paid the October rent and that her lease ran through March. The applicant said that she was moving because the landlord would not fix her water heater. I asked him about that and to my surprise he said "THAT'S RIGHT!" He went on to explain that she didn't pay the gas bill and had her gas shut off. When the gas company came to turn it back on, they wanted this and that fixed before they would turn it back on and he wasn't in any hurry to help her out. That was good enough for me! The pieces of the puzzle were now all in place.

She had violated her current lease by not keeping her utilities turned on. She had not paid her October rent. She was trying to leave before her lease was up. She was wierd. I denied her application and told her that I wouldn't take a tenant who has cheated another landlord!!!