Posted by ny tenant on May 15, 2000 at 16:08:21:
In Reply to: Re: Rental Application questions posted by John on May 12, 2000 at 16:34:18:
Don't be surprised if you're incomplete application is not accepted.
The poster did not mention if this was a co-op building he was looking at and/or of it was the owner of the apartment or the board that he was possibly going to rent from.
I know no less than a dozen people who live in various co-op apartment buildings in my area of Brooklyn, some of them are owners who live in their co-op, some are owners who rent out their co-op and others are strictly renters in the co-op building.
They all say the same thing: The rental application that they filled out asked for all of the information that the shocked prospective tenant below reports and more! The owner who rents had to give the applicant the board's approved rental application and it asked for the same info they'd want if you were attempting to buy. In addition, the renter can only rent the co-op from the owner for two years. What's that all about?
In all cases, the board had to approve the person that the "owner" wanted to rent to and the process was outrageous. There is no reason for them to require you to give them all this financial information.
If you leave blank spaces, your application is sent back to you for completion or tossed. The co-op board will tell you it's their policy to require such info. I guess if you choose not to disclose it, they won't rent to you. I think it's scandalous that a bunch of nobodies are entitled to such information. I'm all for verification of credit worthiness and stable employment and other relevant things but how much I owe on my Visa and how much my credit limit is, is IMO too much.
: IMHO Don't fill out the application or just leave blank spaces.
: Landlords don't need that much information... If you come across a potential landlord that has requested this much information. Fill out the application, give it to them with blank spaces, and wait for their response. If they insist on the form being fully completed then, kindly ask why is all this information so important?
: In my experience, landlords that request this much information for a simple rental agreement has either been burned in the past (someone skip on them) or money hungery. The landlords that have been burned may take out their fustrations out on you for what the past tenant did and harrass you for every penny due to them, and the money hungery landlord will charge you for every little thing and avoid making repairs. So either way you lose.
: Always inspect the condition of the building as well as the apartment.
: Note: these types of landlords always forget to give you a copy of your lease.
: Good luck.
: : Hello all - great idea for a site - my first hit. Can anyone tell me - what kind of information am I required to supply a landlord on a rental application? A potential landlord - of a place that I really want - asks (on a generic form) for (1) my social security number, and (2) all financial accounts, account numbers, and balances. I really don't want to give out that information - for obvious reasons. I understand that he has to do credit checks, etc. - but is there another way? Plus - I have my parents as co-signers....so what else could he possibly need? Can he legally reject me for not producing this information? Please advise. Thank you.
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