One of the guys from the snow removal company told me he is looking for an apartment. I have one coming up but he has two pitbulls and I take one dog under twenty pounds. Sorry. So he is telling me what he is running into while looking for a place. Landlords charge HIM for the credit check. They charge HIM a fee to apply. They charge HIM a holding deposit while they do the credit check and if he doesn't meet their standards. they KEEP HIS HOLDING DEPOSIT. I know this is going on among members here. Obviously it screens out people who can't afford all these charges but how many times is someone going to pay that to get an apartment? If you are not getting applicants maybe this is what you are doing? I think it's theft actually. I just write off my credit check costs as an expense.

I'm not going to absorb the cost of a credit check on every bozo in 100 mile radius that thinks he can get into whatever unit he wants.

I can run 10-20 apps on a single vacancy. That's $150-$300. 5 vacancies a year, that could be $1,500. 10 years $15,000.

They will continue to be charged the app fee.

One person's lost prospect is another person's dodged a bullet.

I'm with NE. App fees help me screen out tire-kickers and deadbeats. My good friend Brad20K doesn't charge apps fees, and I respect his logic on that. He's full-time and has helpers to quickly sift thru many pieces of subpar applicants to find that one solid candidate.

I get 50 or so "I'm SUUUUUUPER interested" responses from one-click prospects. No time to waste with the 49 unqualified folks, so we came up with an alternative.

We pre-screen for FREE. I tell folks, if they are truthful and complete, there's no reason they should lose their app fees. If they lie...well, that's on them.

Here's a thought for folks who are spending a ton on application fees:

1) Follow your lease to get a good land lord reference

2) Don't break the law repeatedly

3) Have stable employment

4) Pay your bills on time

What NE said. "Writing off on taxes" doesn't reimburse you.

When I paid for the background checks, people would look me straight in the eye and flat out lie: "No, no criminal, no evictions..." and of course there WERE. But they didn't care, they weren't paying.

Dear Ms.Ally: First of all please do not take what this guy is telling you as the whole story.

The holding fee thing may be true and it may not be. As gad as the app fee it is another part of the screening tool kit. If they cannot afford to part with it then they do not qualify for your place.

It is part of the costs to finding a new place and should be budgeted for when they shop as they need to look at themselves and know if they have a decent shot at being approved for a given place.

AllyM I love LL's like you for obvious reasons.

I think WHAT YOUR PROSPECT SAID IS A LIE. There is no LL here that has said they keep a holding fee for someone they deny. That's against the law-- but it does sensationalize your prospects standing with YOU--NOT with most on this site.

Should a holding fee be collected from an appoved applicant and you take the house off the market FOR THEM and they change their minds-- tough.

You have some set to be calling anyone here a theif???? You can't look past the lies from applicants -- and thats sad since you now blame people here for your plow boys lies.

I suspect most people are upfront with what their qualifications are prior to accepting an application. For example they state they run credit checks, and applicant wants to take a chance on them not actually running a credit check knowing he has poor credit, it's on him. Landlords are in the business of renting properties, not running countless credit check after credit check for no reason other than maybe make a few dollars profit.

Lots of us charge an application fee to cover our credit checks. That's pretty standard in the industry. In some areas, with lots of tire kickers, people charge a fee larger than just to cover the credit checks because of the time involved.

That being said, I've never heard of ANYONE (here or otherwise) doing what you've suggested is being done with your "I know this is going on among members here" statement. No one here is doing that that I know of. No one is taking a "Holding Deposit" before doing the checks and then keeping that money if they don't pass the credit check.

That's just in your head, AllyM, sorry.

- John...

Paying an application fee is a cost of doing business for a prospective Tenant. You could credit the approved applications but I wouldn't absorb the cost for all the bozos that apply. Good luck.

Also, we're talking about a guy with TWO PITBULLS that also likely does fairly seasonal work since he works for a snow plow company. I'm not surprised at all that he can't find a place...

- John...

Ally;

I do not charge an application fee. I put it 100 percent on the prospect. I tell them up front I will not rent to anyone who has been evicted or unpaid judgements. If you want the place, give me your email. Then I pass on to Smartmove by Transunion their email address. Smartmove sends them an email directly where they pay smartmove themselves and fill out their info for a credit check.

Smartmove then sends me an email telling me about judgements, evictions and whether they recommend I rent to them, they are borderline, or recommend I should deny.

If Smartmove recommends I rent to them, I give them an app at that time. When they return the app with the deposit, the place is taken off the market and held until the move in date that we both agreed to.

If Smartmove recommends I deny, I never contact them again. If they tell me something is wrong and info isnt correct, I simply reply "Fix your issues with the agency and when they recommend approval, if the place is still available it's yours."

This way nothing is on me. Every expense is on the prospective tenant.

If I send out Smartmove emails to ten prospects, it costs me nothing. If Smartmove recommends approval on all ten I send all ten the application. First one to return it to me with the deposit gets it.

By doing it this way, I never have to ask about their drama. They know if they were evicted or not. Many tell me they will fill out the credit check with in a couple hours, and they dont. They know there are issues, so they dont waste their money responding to Smartmove. Easier on me. I dont have to send them a denial letter.

Nope. A holding fee is charged after the prospect has been approved and says that they want to move forward.

About 15 years ago I didn't charge but it also didn't cost me anything to run the reports (I had an agreement with a loan officer and his bank to run a check). That didn't last too long (maybe a year) and the loan officer moved so I ended up with trying to find another way.

I'm sure that's when I ran into this site and found that many were charging. I started charging since and it was like $25. Some didn't like it and sometimes I would say "ok well, if you are accepted and take the apartment, I'll credit you".

In all honesty though - for those who are filling out apps now they are EXPECTING to pay for an application fee. Those that complain about it - don't go past that step because I won't have the discussion with them.

Ally, you do what works for you. I don't charge the fee to keep … that's my cost. Hold fee - yes I do charge that and that's the agreement we have. If they don't want to pay it after they have been approved but don't want to move in right away I am VERY up front about the fact that until all money is paid, lease signed, etc OR a HOld FEE is paid with an agreement of move-in date, etc … It's still being marketed, showed and someone else could take it. It's their choice.

I don't WANT to keep the Holding fee … it becomes their SD when they follow through. The only time I do keep it is when they DONT follow through - but then I just lost prospective tenants because they backed out and were going to take it.

I charge $25 per adult. Very rarely does anyone question it.

My hopeful applicants are told what the criteria is. They are made to read my written criteria before they apply. If they get rejected after applying and paying the application fee, I consider it a stupid tax that they pay for lying on their application.

I've gotten about 150 hopefuls with each vacancy. That's too many for me to give them each a free credit check. They would all apply, even though they knew they wouldn't qualify, if it didn't cost them anything. Just hoping I wasn't really checking.

The application fee is one of the first steps in screening.

Oregon Woodsmoke, DEAD ON.

I processed this online application a few minutes ago....

Question: Have you ever been evicted from a rental?

Answer: 'no'.

I then look at the eviction record for the background check they JUST paid for. What magical treasure awaits?

-> Eviction, May, 201X, local prop management company.

I. Just. What. Why. You just paid ~$30 for nothing. That's so stupid.

My wife kindly explained it to me......"Hon, they're just stupid, and they think you're stupid, too."

plenty MO you have just been added to the LIST!!!!!

No not so "brilliant".

Serious you all are so down to earth!!!!!

Don't know who's more wachie-- LL's or tenants?

I just collected 2 tonight on a pair of bozo's. They paid the app fee and told me they didn't have jobs. I told them 3x verifiable income is required.

THEY PAID THE FEE!! $60. I can disqualify without even wasting the money on a credit check.

Absolutely I charge an application fee. I process to many apps in a given year to absorb that! Besides, you are telling me how stellar you are, then prove it! If I can disqualify before running the app through background search, money in my pocket and I don't feel guilty for it. I told them that evictions would disqualify and you need my place because you are currently going through eviction, that's your problem.

I've heard of folks here taking a holding fee, but never with the app. I've only seen it done after approved and to take the place off the market. I also thought most on here converted it to the security deposit upon move in. I see nothing wrong here either. If you take the place off the market for 2 weeks and then they decide they don't want it, you just lost 2 weeks of marketing and a possible good tenant. If you had the holding fee, then at least you aren't totally out.

In the second sentence you answered your own question about dogs, sizes and he is disqualified. But if you really want high blood pressure and headaches go ahead and don't trust your gut feeling, discriminate against your previous applicants you have declined, but there may be a work-around it you want this person and his pitbull dogs, tell him to get them mounted at a taxidermy shop so he can have them.

"If they don't get past the pre-screen, they simply don't get an application."

I don't do a showing if they fail the phone pre-screen, unless they absolutely insist, because I don't want to get in trouble. But very few insist.