Any downside? A lot more than the upside...

No SS#, illegal, no credentials. Maybe just give him access to your bank account also.

One of the top things on my list is how garnish-able they are.

Even if everything else is great.

First off NC doesn't allow garnishment except for Fed taxes and child support.

It can go well, and it can go poorly.

I have a group of four who are allowed to work for 7? 8? months, and then need to leave the country for 3? 4? months, and then are allowed back in. They're Mexican, but they've been issued SS cards, but those cards are marked differently from citizens' cards. They have their papers, they had a good history of working at the particular place, they pay promptly, they generally keep their heads down and work hard. They provided a mutual friend as their translator.

As it turns out, they were in the same social circle as some others of my tenants who were citizens, but had strong Mexican roots. Those tenants have also been very prompt, very quiet, very easygoing tenants. They had applied for a house before, and I turned them down for lack-of-income... and the son went and got himself a job at the local factory by the next week. By that time, that house had rented, but I was happy to give them the next one.

When the wind farms were coming through my area, I had a group of three who were working here for a set period of time, and who shared a house. You guessed it-- they were prompt to pay; they were very quiet; they were easygoing and got their SD refunded in full.

To contrast them-- there was yet another group of people who share a similar cultural background. Mom, Dad, and their five kids. Chatting with them some more, through his adult daughter translator, there might be some grandparents coming to visit from Mexico for a few months, and just so happened to be there. And maybe his brother, too, who also just so happened to be there. It added up to about 10-12 people in a <1300 sf 2/1.

I was very polite. "No problem! Here's an application. Please go ahead and write down the information on everyone who's over 18." The man, his wife, the adult daughter, and the extended relatives. That made them very uncomfortable.

"And, I'm going to have to verify income on everyone," I said to the principal guy-- through the translating daughter. "How much do you make in a month?"

"It varies."

"No problem! How about if you give me copies of your last five or six paystubs, and we can see what it averages out like?"

"Well, I don't actually get a paycheck. I get paid in cash."

"No problem! How about if I get in touch with your employer? That way, he can check his records. It should be easy for him to print out what you've made, year-to-date, and we can get an even better idea of what your income looks like."

"...Can we take this with us and fill it out at home?"

"No problem!"

Al, he is basically illegal, and I bet he came on limited "vacation-type" visa hoping to marry and stay in the US. He has nothing to show you other than his passport. He got a job under the table from another Mexican or a US company that employs Mexicans because they can pay them less and keep them off the books. After he marries a US citizen and applies for a green card, he will be OK.

If you rent to him(and her), in a few months there will be 10 people living in your house like Deanna says above. He will be 'helping out' others like people helped him out.

Al,

I LOVE Mexicans. We rent to many illegals. I wish we had more.

-federal Fair Housing law does not allow me to discriminate based on national origin.

-I do not know of any law saying a person must be s citizen to spend money in the US.

-they pay in cash (money order)

-never late because they pool their money.

-a group of 4 men will have 6 jobs.

-my groups are related - uncles, cousins, etc. I really don't know who lives there because they keep replacing people over the years.

-never had to evict one

-if there is a woman in the mix your house will be MUCH cleaner.

-install a gas stove. They tend to cook stuff for HOURS and fry an elec stove.

-be clear about parking. 4 guys will have 5 vehicles.

No SSN = No apartment/house. There's no way to do a valid criminal check without it.

LOL, Al...A dozen people tell you why this is a bad idea. A (misguided) Brad tells you he likes Mexicans and (to Brad) you write, "...Thanks for the confirmation..."

Well, I wish you luck. You're going to need it.

I also would challenge Brad (on a new post) how someone who preaches ZERO TOLERANCE consistently would take the opposite approach on this subject and even encourages someone else to do the same. It blows me away!

From 1980 to 2005 I had over Fifty (50) such tenancies at any one time. The buildings I purchased had owners who would rent on feelings, not on Credit or Employment. That's why I got a sweet deal buying them.

When the California real estate was booming, these working class immigrants where happy to pay their rent. When the economy and construction slowed down and these undocumented workers lost work, they thought nothing about NOT PAYING THEIR RENT and taking advantage by adding roommates to supplement their income.