New tenants....

recycled sixtie · recycled sixtie's Garage

We are looking at getting new tenants in. Our last set of tenants are moving on to condo ownership.

This new set of prospective tenants has put a deposit down but no lease has been signed as of yet.

We asked for references and apparently these two seniors are Jehovah's witnesses.

I am not anti religion but am concerned about them being pitas in our building.

I know Jehovah's witnesses go door to door but I have no issue getting rid of them.

Should we be concerned about them being tenants? Would you be concerned if they were your tenants?

impactbumper · 10:00 AM

Edit: re-read the concern. No comments.

id10t · 08-20-2016, 09:43 AM

I've been bugged by several religious groups here at the house, but never a JW.

How would you feel if it was a family with a few girls in Girl Scouts who would be going door to door selling cookies? Or Boy Scouts and pop corn?

creaturecat · 08-20-2016, 09:49 AM

the Canadian Charter does not allow for discrimination, based upon religion.
YMMV. : )

pwd72s · 08-20-2016, 09:55 AM

One of those happy days in life for me was the day I stopped being a landlord.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

You could put in the lease that they are not to solicit or prosthelytize in the building.

pwd72s · 08-20-2016, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobra

You could put in the lease that they are not to solicit or prosthelytize in the building.

And immediately be sued...

These days, "rights" are mostly on the side of the tenant.

Norm K · 08-20-2016, 10:57 AM

If you opt to not rent to them you'd better find another reason, as religion is a protected status under Fair Housing laws.

_

fastfredracing · 08-20-2016, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

One of those happy days in life for me was the day I stopped being a landlord.

Werd. I am still in, but dying to get out, my partner wants to hold the properties, I want to sell.
I am not sure I am reading you correctly . But as far as references go , I could care less if they were mr and ms Jesus Crhist themselves, if they don't give you references , they have a story . This is my number one flag when interviewing tenants. When I ask them for their last landlords contact info, and they start him hawing around, GONE.

aigel · aigel's Garage

You can't discriminate based on religion here in the US. Of course that does not mean people don't. Personally, I always go with credit score, job history and references. Excellent credit and excellent references win, who cares what they believe in.

I am not an expert on JW, but I very much doubt that they will solicit immediate neighbors. To me JWs have always been very respectful.

Georg

scottmandue · 08-20-2016, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aigel

You can't discriminate based on religion here in the US. Of course that does not mean people don't. Personally, I always go with credit score, job history and references. Excellent credit and excellent references win, who cares what they believe in.

I am not an expert on JW, but I very much doubt that they will solicit immediate neighbors. To me JWs have always been very respectful.

Georg

I would have the agree with Georg...
I have rented to...
A gay paralegal guy (best renter ever).
A Muslim and his Latino 'wife', local businessman, super nice, did all his own home repair (never called me for anything).
Two helicopter pilots who worked at the Long Beach airport (great guys).
And two single mom's... by far the single mom's are the biggest PITA... "There are ANTS in the house!!!" get calls for every little thing. Oh latest thing... "there are bees hanging around the mailbox!!!
I would not hesitate to rent to JW's
You also mention they are seniors... I know very little about JW's but it seems like the ones going door to door are the younguns.

I also wouldn't generalize... I'm a devote Christian but I have never stood on a street corner with a bullhorn and XL bible shouting bible verses at cars.

recycled sixtie · recycled sixtie's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by aigel

You can't discriminate based on religion here in the US. Of course that does not mean people don't. Personally, I always go with credit score, job history and references. Excellent credit and excellent references win, who cares what they believe in.

I am not an expert on JW, but I very much doubt that they will solicit immediate neighbors. To me JWs have always been very respectful.

Georg

Thanks Georg. I thought about their soliciting immediate neighbors and that did scare me.

They seem very respectful and she even does a little curtsy when she is saying goodbye as if my wife and I were queen and king.

I am well aware that you cannot discriminate based on religion. We have turned down smokers before without telling them why.

Fred you make sense stating that no references at all is not a good sign.

scottmandue · 08-20-2016, 01:40 PM

I only turned down one set of renters.
My dad was showing the house while I was at work.
"Hey Scott, I rented the house, I have a check in hand."
"Who are the new renters?"
"Two college students, their parents are both lawyers."
"GIVE THEM BACK THE CHECK!!!!"

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

And immediately be sued...

These days, "rights" are mostly on the side of the tenant.

Paul, it is not unreasonable to restrict a tenant from soliciting in the building where they rent. If you refrain from using the term prosthelytize, what are they going to say?

rwest · rwest's Garage

Friends have JW as neighbors and they said they have never knocked on any doors in the neighborhood.

I would also agree that every one that has come to my door has been very polite. I likewise am very polite to them and tell that I have my own beliefs, but am not going to be rude to them either- one guy thanks me and says a lot of people are very mean.

References, background and credit checks would be my go to if I ever had rental properties.

pavulon · 08-20-2016, 03:25 PM

Know and have known a few JWs. Some really nice people. One completely crackers. Would imagine that distribution to be similar to the general population. Maybe just consider them as individuals separate from the reputation of their religion.

flyenby · 08-20-2016, 05:32 PM

Had a guy want to pay me 30k in cash one year in advance........I ran like hell. You can only imagine how that would come out...

lendaddy · 08-20-2016, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobra

Paul, it is not unreasonable to restrict a tenant from soliciting in the building where they rent. If you refrain from using the term prosthelytize, what are they going to say?

If you suddenly slip this into the lease and it can be proven that none of your other prior or current leases contain this clause...gotta believe you're screwed.

recycled sixtie · recycled sixtie's Garage

From contacting people that know of Jehovah's witnesses it appears that they are well respected. However from what I understand there are Jehovah's witnesses in our neighborhood that a person would not know they were JW's unless it was pointed out to us.

So the likelihood of their promoting their cause in the vicinity of their home is unlikely.

LakeCleElum · 07:54 AM

Had a large family of JW as neighbors in my old house.......Greatest neighbors ever....One quirk, they wouldn't open their drapes for the 2 weeks every year when I had my Christmas Lights up.......(I hope it's still OK to say Christmas????)