Show Me Some Skin

Though she has a few months left, I have agreed if she keeps the place clean and lets me advertise it, I am willing to let Haroldine out of her lease. And, just to prove I am totally swell with this idea, I have started advertising this lovely home for rent.

This is the house Jack and I own together. Therefore, Kirby isn't involved in tenant placement. This is good and bad. It is good because I am not paying a property manager. It is bad because Jack simply hates property management. As an example: I am 1,700 miles from this house. Jack is in the same city. I am the one dealing with Haroldine. Jack, however, will be expected to show the home once we find someone worthy, but that is about as far as that goes.

This past week I ran a quick ad on Craig's List for this home. One of the big annoyances about Craig's List's ads is the lack of ability to qualify the people interested in possibly renting. If they call, I can chat with them, find out their life story. I can find out if they plan on using the home as a breeding ground for king cobras or if they intend to have 17 children residing with them.

In an e-mail, I am pretty much stuck with a few basics. The actual qualifying takes place after they see the house. This is a huge waste of time for me, but it works well for potential tenants. They have no skin in the game. 

This past week I got an e-mail from Char. Her e-mail came from (presumably) her employer's domain. Her e-mail was polite. She wrote in complete sentences and had decent subject-verb agreement. A dream come true. She asked intelligent questions. How big is the house? Does it have gas? And, when could she see it?

I answered as I do under these circumstances. "I am currently out of town, but please contact my business partner Jack to see it." Generally this isn't a problem. Char seemed to think otherwise.

Apparently Char is concerned about "scams" and felt my answers lessened my credibility. In fact, she was willing to wait until I got back into town before she went any further.

My first inclination was to give Char my credentials, explaining this wasn't a scam and I really am a landlord. But, on further reflection, there is no reason to lay everything on the line. I know nothing about Char either. I did tell her how Marty Sunshine, Jack and I own the home and clarified about our geographic locations. I gave her my cell if she wanted to call. And, I gave her Attorney Jon's number to verify all is what I say it is. I haven't heard back.

In a landlord-tenant relationship, there is a contract to protect both parties' interests. But aside from that, there needs to be a certain amount of trust. So far, Char doesn't trust me. She has made that clear. And, when I think about it, I am not entirely sure I wish to move forward with someone I have to work so hard to win over--long before I have qualified her. After all, I have no skin in the game either.