I Lost Her at "Background Check"

On my Birmingham phone this morning, I had sixteen missed calls from the same phone number. However, no message. For the first time, I broke one of my major rules and called back the person who wanted so desperately to speak with me.

Caller ID is way too convenient. I hate it when I get a call from some stranger saying, "Yea, this is Joe, I just got a call at this number." If I really wanted to talk with Joe, I would have left a message. Now I understand Joe's position. Perhaps he is advertising a rental property.

In this case, my caller was Ms. Thomas. She knew exactly where my vacant home was located. More the point, she was interested. We talked about some general things related to renting. Dollar amount, terms, schools. She gave me the details of what she needed and what she wanted. And then, she asked me the question. "What do I need to do to move in?"

Looking back, what she was really asking was how could she persuade Carolsue to hand over the keys. Instead, I innocently mistook her question simply as what is the next step in my rental process. I told her she would need to fill out an application. I would run a credit/background/eviction check. I explained credit issues generally aren't really a problem. However, I do not rent to anyone who has a prior felony conviction. Nor do I rent to anyone who has been evicted.

Ms. Thomas grew silent. Finally she said, "I'll call you back." And with that, she was gone.