5 ms·
"Why would they ever say no to a qualified tenant?" I agree with the rest of your comment, but in my experience landlords in hot markets can be pretty capricio
by danenania 5y ago
"Why would they ever say no to a qualified tenant?"
I agree with the rest of your comment, but in my experience landlords in hot markets can be pretty capricious. If they know they'll have a steady stream of applicants, many will definitely reject qualified tenants based on personal whims or to hold out for someone they see as "more" qualified or more likely to stay long term. That said, as long as the apartment still gets turned around quickly then it's not really a threat to this business model.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- CydeWeys 5y agoThat's not rejecting (all) qualified tenants though so much as they are merely using some kind of algorithm to pick one of the many prospective qualified tenants. They can only choose one anyway, and FIFO is not necessarily the best strategy. So a better way to phrase the question would be "Why would they ever say no to all qualified prospective tenants?"
- unishark 5y agoIn California my understanding is they are required to accept the first qualified tenant due to anti-discrimination laws. I thought NY was similar in that regard (and hence the income=3*rent or whatever the popular advertised rules are there).
- crazygringo 5y agoThat's been my experience as well, in practice (I don't if there's a legal reason). Yes they'll sometimes pick the most qualified applicant, but only if you submit your application the same day or same weekend, which is often the case with open houses. It really depends on the landlord however -- for a lot, it's literally the first qualified person to apply, which is why you want to be the first person to the open house and have all your documents ready to apply on the spot, since it might be gone 30 minutes later.