That guy who told me 'I'll pay you when I'm happy' over email before even signing

I was talking to a potential renter last week for a unit in Portland and he kept saying stuff like 'I'll pay the deposit when I feel like the place is perfect.' That was the first red flag but then he asked if he could move in two weeks early with just a handshake. I told him I had to think about it and then just said the unit was already taken. Has anyone else had a client pull the 'pay when I feel like it' card before any money changed hands?

3 comments

3 Comments

robin8963d ago

Save yourself the headache. That guy was going to be a problem from day one.

taylor_wells3d ago

Oh man, that's such a classic move from people who are just going to be trouble down the road. I've had a few potential tenants pull the whole 'I'll pay when I'm satisfied' thing and it almost always means they're going to nitpick every little thing to avoid paying on time. The handshake request before any money changes hands is another huge red flag, because they're basically asking you to trust them with zero skin in the game. You did the right thing by just saying it was taken, honestly it saves you from what would probably have been a nightmare of late payments and excuses. Once someone starts with that kind of attitude before they even sign, it only gets worse from there.

wells.evan3d ago

My buddy had a similar thing happen with a guy who wanted to rent his garage for a car project. The dude kept saying he'd pay the full first month once he "saw the space was really working out." Then he showed up with a truck full of junk and wanted to leave it there for a few days as a "test run" with no money down. My friend let him leave one box and said come back with cash the next day. Guy never showed up again and my buddy had to haul that box to the dump himself.