They are a 50-something couple… him a retired Army Captain, her an account executive at Merrill – Lynch… no kids at home, 790 credit score, lots of income … “GOLD PLATED PEOPLE” that have applied to rent your home. No problem, right?
Oh, I almost forgot … they have 2 dogs, a Corgi and a Chihuahua.
So now what? Did the “gold plating” suddenly fall off this nice couple? Should we rent to them… to someone with pets?
It is decisions like these that we must make every day. Some would say
Why allow ANY pets ever? They do nothing positive for the property and always leave some sort of “mark” upon it. Just say NO to pets!
The possibility of scratches on the wood floors and trim, urine stains on the carpets and
holes dug in the backyard is very much on the property owner’s mind, and
understandably so.
Question: WHY SHOULD RENTERS WITH PETS BE CONSIDERED AT ALL?
Answer: Because we don’t think it’s productive to reject 60% of all those that apply!
That’s right … statistics show that about 6 out of 10 Americans own pets, predominantly dogs and cats. Would we PREFER no pets on your property? Yes, but to reject every applicant that owns a dog or a cat would mean that your rental home would remain vacant much longer than necessary, and every vacant day is a lost money day. For a home renting for $1,495 I month, each day is worth $50!
Unless a homeowner tell us ABSOLUTELY NO PETS, we find it best to consider and make allowance for those high quality rental applicants that also happened to own a loved pet.
When presented with applications with dogs or cats, we first want to know the following:
- How many pets? (1 or 2 maybe… more than that, maybe not!)
- What kind/ breed? (Certain breeds on the published “BITE LISTS” are prohibited)
- Are they neutered? (we don’t allow un-neutered animals)
- How old are they? (we don’t allow dogs under 12 months of age)
- Have they ever bitten anyone? (if so – no)
- What do they weigh? (smaller is better than bigger)
If we are comfortable with the information provided AND all other screening criteria are met, then we will make a thoughtful decision on the application and if a decision is made to allow pets, the deposit will be increased due to the presence of a pet.
At Red Roof we always try to balance the needs of our owners to get the property rented right away, at the right price, to the right person) with the needs of those that apply to rent (60% of whom own a pet).
