Adulting 101

I have rented out three, possibly four--but not likely--rentals in the month of February so far. And what is really cool is that the three (or four) folks I have dealt with have been realistic, nice and fun to be with. By the way, none of them have been the Worriers.

But, let's fast forward to the possible fourth renters. These folks came to be through the sign in front of my listed Gold Canyon rental home (which has been rented!). They were looking for a place and I showed them one on Saturday. The couple is "engaged" and have been a couple for what appears to be six months--which looks to be about how far along the woman is in her pregnancy.

Anyway, I left these guys after showing them the home and said I would be along an hour later to grab their application. The guy had to go back to work and left his betrothed with the task of filling out the rental application. Unfortunately, the girlfriend didn't quite grasp the intricacies of answering questions such as: name, address, birth date, bank name, type of car, etc. So, an hour after I left them, I returned and helped her fill out the application using the hood of my car as her desk.

It seems to me that filling out a rental application is a minimum requirement for being an adult. And, because I would never want anyone to be writing a blog about Polly or Buckaroo not understanding how to do the above, today I sat down with them and showed them what needed to be done. Honesty, I thought this was a no-brainer, but I have a different perspective. Both kids did fine, with them agreeing it was tedious and slightly overwhelming but not difficult once they got going.  But this poor girl! Oh good grief!

As a former landlord, I have judged many based on how well they fill out the rental application. Sloppy handwriting that I have to bring in a cipher to read tends to get passed aside. Can't remember your current address? Not sure how much you make per hour/month? I am moving on. My philosophy has always been a rental application is a first impression to an owner. If you can't bother to put your best foot forward on this, I can only imagine what I would be in for if I agreed to rent a home to you.

I recognize adulting is a skill that doesn't come as easily to some as it should. But how I wish my sweet client had done a better job at filling out her rental application. She was judged on her skills in filling this out. I know this, because the owner called me a few times, asking for some basics she missed. And the last time he called he made a comment that he wasn't sure these folks were a good fit if they couldn't handle answering basic questions on three pieces of paper.