What to look out for when renting to single mum on WINZ

[humpf]

STAY AWAY!!!
I just been through this,
single mum 2y and 5y old, presented well, clean clothes, took shoes off etc, agent did a credit check wich was spotless, had good renting references, rent came out of her account etc,
few weeks later boyfriend (and father of both kids!!!) moved in, his sister, her partner, their kids, stopped paying rent, trashed the house, made up lies in tenancy tribunal (luckily police officers were willing to come and give evidence too, along with the insurance assessor and agent), but turned out the day before the hearing she and her partner took out huge loan, got new cars (sold old ones for cash) on loan so even with judgment in my favour we can't touch them, i guess i will be getting my few dollars a week for half a century.....NO SINGLE MUMS ON WINZ they are the tennant from hell in making - due to their 'silent' partners...

[WGN ex-property manager]

Robin, most PMs seem to be woman around my neck of the woods (although it's sometimes not easy to tell), and it's precisely those with more experience - the ones who've been around the block and have suffered the scars of life - who tend to be the biggest excusers of solo mums and their reputation, deserved or otherwise, as bad tenants.

Wow - really?
Which part of the country.

A good PM should prioritise the owner as a customer more than the tenant.

Mind you there are quite a few who prioritise any tenant (rent = fees = income) over no tenant, and let the owner wear the risk. This is not professional service in my opinion, but the de facto fee structure does encourage this sort of thing.

[graemeh]

While I don't agree with your analysis of the cleanliness of a seat/boot, graeme, I am a firm believer in how the make/model of car you drive reflects your personality. Which is not really the same thing.

I agree, it has no relation to your ability to pay rent but it does give a very good indication of how well you are likely to look after the property.

[TheLiberalLeft]

Robin, most PMs seem to be woman around my neck of the woods (although it's sometimes not easy to tell), and it's precisely those with more experience - the ones who've been around the block and have suffered the scars of life - who tend to be the biggest excusers of solo mums and their reputation, deserved or otherwise, as bad tenants.

[TheLiberalLeft]

While I don't agree with your analysis of the cleanliness of a seat/boot, graeme, I am a firm believer in how the make/model of car you drive reflects your personality. Which is not really the same thing.

Here's a story told to me by a man who knows. Jeremy Clarkson once took his Jaguar in for a service at his local dealership. Upon collection, he apparently threw a tantrum the likes of which Paris Hilton would be proud because they had cleaned his car (inside and out). He proceeded to empty the glove box and his pockets scattering the contents all over the back seat.

Now this may serve as justification for your belief, I don't know. But it certainly goes to prove that cleanliness of one's back seat has little to do with ability or willingness to pay one's rent.

[graemeh]

And a tidy car boot, according to some.

You don't need to look in the boot, you can spot the messy ones by looking at the rubbish around the back and front seats!

[WGN ex-property manager]

Robin, are you agreeing or disagreeing with me?

Kind of disagreeing.

If you're seeing most PM's as women then I suspect you're hiring Real estate agents moonlighting as PM's.

[TheLiberalLeft]

I find most junior Real estate agents posing as part time property managers are women. Once you get the "Real Deal" PM's its' 50/50, but they've all been around the block and had some scars from life.

Robin, are you agreeing or disagreeing with me?

[TheLiberalLeft]

And a tidy car boot, according to some.

[Re@der]

Interesting challenge to tenancy filters. Ideally the filter should be consistently applied to all prospective tenants. Single(Female or male), married, employed, unemployed etc.What would these be.

Weekly income after tax 50% ???? greater than rent
Positive reference by former landlord.
Ability to pay Bond and rent up front
Appropriate number of tenants per dwelling
Clean and tidy appearance

[WGN ex-property manager]

When is active risk management discrimination?

PM's who have handled enough tenancies can list off the top of their head the risk factors. These are of course generalisations, and can often be quite un-politically correct....... but car insurance for women is cheaper for a reason, and that, on the face of it could be seen as sexual discrimination!

Ask yourself this: (hypothetically... and this is SUPPOSED to make you cringe)
Imagine you were sponsored to do a statistical survey of private rented houses in a downmarket suburb, and all the PM's and landlords gave you access to their data, and the study was investigating % of late/missed rent payments.
If you broke down the %'s by ethnic grouping, and could show that there was a significant difference between the groups, would you publish your study?

[WGN ex-property manager]

Don't you find that as most (in my experience) property managers are women, they tend to have a slightly softer spot for solo mums and treat you like a leper when you voice those opinions?

I find most junior Real estate agents posing as part time property managers are women. Once you get the "Real Deal" PM's its' 50/50, but they've all been around the block and had some scars from life.

[Keys]

WOW! Unbelievable discrimination here - do you people advocate the same checks for a single father?

I do the same checks for everyone bud. No matter race, religion or political belief. Those who have bad credit are everywhere. Check everyone.

[eri]

car insurance companies discriminate against young guys

health insurance companies discriminate against old and sick people

banks prefer not to extend mortgages to people who are maxed out on their credit cards and have no real income

why?

because of their risk profiles

[Wasabi]

WOW! Unbelievable discrimination here - do you people advocate the same checks for a single father? Non european? etc I've had 2 tenants in my property both single parents and absolutely amazing tenants - as well as amazing parents - maybe you should ask sometimes where the loser father is and why he ran out on his kids!