This discussion today is about roommate situations and how to handle them here in the San Antonio rental market. When applicants want to apply for one of our homes with other people, or roommates, it puts a bit of difficulty into our otherwise efficient rental situations.
There can be a lot of problems when roommates are involved.
Remember that the person who signs the lease agreement needs to make three times the monthly rent. They also have to meet all credit qualifications and financial criteria for that home. If they are moving in with a roommate or two, it might be hard to do that on their own.
Thanks to new recently passed laws, if we have to evict roommates from a property, we need to physically serve each person on that lease agreement. So, if Billy Bob is renting with his buddy Jim Joe, we have to serve them both and give them property service notification in order for the eviction to move forward. This means the eviction can get thrown out if that service is done incorrectly. A roommate situation makes things hard for property managers and landlords. It also becomes more expensive, especially in eviction situations.
We Handle Roommate Problems Delicately.
Often, roommates can turn into more than what you think you’re getting. Perhaps it starts out as two guys, but then it turns into two guys and a guy’s girlfriend. Then, you might have the girlfriend’s dog. There will be an extra car outside, and it continues to spiral from there. Sometimes, roommate situations can turn complicated.
When we rent out single family homes, we like to see a family unit moving in. This might mean a mom and a dad and some kids and maybe a pet. Single family homes are usually for single families. It’s what we’re looking for in most of our rental properties. We do have roommates in some of our homes – we can do it. It simply creates limitations and challenges that some people are not ready for. When we get a roommate application, we always present it to the property owner for consideration, and we do our best to handle it when the owner approves. When it turns to three or four roommates, we just want to point the lease towards one party.
There is a lot involved in a roommate situation, and this is simply an introduction. If you’d like to talk about more specifics, or ask questions you might have, please contact us at RentWerx San Antonio. We look forward to hearing from you.
