# Single guy about to rent out 2nd suite to a single mother, problems?



## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

Hi,

I have only rented the second suite to a single family, two lesbian female and single male professionals before, but I have never rented out to single mother's before. So I was wondering if there's anything that I should be looking out for. Here's what I think are relevant gray area that should be disclosed.

I live upstairs and the tenant live downstairs. The house is in the middle of being converted into a two suite house, but has not been done. (basically, haven't installed the second stove, pending regulatory approval). By the time the tenant needs to move in, the conversion will still be underway.

I think I've listed all that's problematic. Does any veterans landlords have any suggestions besides doing the usual credit/reference check?


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## I'm Howard (Oct 13, 2010)

Single Mother, I assume with Child, could noise become a factor?

Is She gainfully employed or living off the system, where does She live now, Why is She leaving, if present landlord gives glowing testimonial , be careful, might be trying to dump problem tenant?

The fact She is single and a Mother has nothing to do with anything, do you want a Family moving into your residance.??

I personally would reduce my risk by only renting to someoe who could not accuse me of discrimination of any sort, and for the record, the worst hire I made was a single mother with child.

Three weeks after starting, did not turn up for work, finaly tracked her down at home pregnant and spotting, now technically disabled, six months salary for her to agree to leave and, Yes, previous Boss gave her glowing testimonials, just trying to dump a problem.

Future employers calling about Her, I changed company policy to one of not commenting on previous employees, only length of time worked.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I've rented out to single mothers before. They are no different than any one else or a family.

Since you will be living in the same building, you'll want to make sure that the noise isn't a problem with the child.

I would interested in how old the child is. If it is newborn or a young infant, then the person may not have made it out on their own, and I would be concened about the rent, and the noise.

I think if the person is employed with a proven track record at work, and income that is decent, and it's not an infant, then it's really no different. 



To Howards point - best hire I've had was a single mother. Had her stuff totally together, needed to be organized to do the best for her kid, with no help from her dead beat husband. She was a true inspiration. Worst hire I had- Single/Divorced, male in his 40/50's. Fell asleep at work all the time, didnt have any responsibilities, and would whine about not having money to pay child support, and then didn't understand why his kids didn't speak to him.

My point, is all of this stuff is anedotal. I don't think being a single mom makes someone a bad employee, renters, etc. It all comes down to their personality, and ethics. We know there are good and bad in all groups.


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

She has a steady average paying job. The thought initially came up because what she needs and what my place offers fits together. And I get the impression that a working single mother might be more responsible on the home front since she has the kid as a responsibility and cannot afford to be moving constantly.

Noise might be a problem, so I will inquire about the kid's age. Will I have to deal with requests to take care of her kid from time to time? If so, how should I respond?

Howard, yes I know that trick. Get a job, get pregnant and receive 6 months maternity leave without working, but I am not employing her.


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## LBCfan (Jan 13, 2011)

When I read the thread title, I thought you were worried about potential claims of sexual harassment. If not, treat her like anyone else. She may (or may not) be an ideal tenant. Time will tell.


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

LBF...

Will I have to worry about claims of sexual harrassment? Or should I just forget this and move on to another male professional who will likely buy his own home after a year.

I honestly did not think about potential sexual harrassment suits, are we really like the US? There's no way to prove that it didn't happen.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

If you don't do anything to harass her, you should be okay. She's living in your basement. If you leave her alone, then I don't see any problems. 

In terms of the baby sitting, if you feel like you would want to do it, then do it. If not, then I just tell her no if it comes up. If you're worried about potential child abuse issues, then tell her no. 

Honestly, my thought is that you treat her like any other tenant. Perform your due diligence, and go from there. If her job has been really stable, and she's been a stable person, then you are probably fine. Generally, parents do try to be stable for their kids. You just have to find out more about what she is looking for. One single mom we had really wanted to live in our area because of the specialty school. She stayed for quite a while, and the only reason she moved was because she got married.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

All you can do is see how it goes. Since you're not new to renting to tenants, the experience you have should give you the knowledge you need to do the usual things for tenants that don't pay. Try and interview the person, find out how they live etc if at all possible. There are party animals and deadbeats everywhere. Single moms often have a tough go of making ends meet. Find out her job and income as suggested initially and go from there. Not sure what else you can do.


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## financialnoob (Feb 26, 2011)

I'm not quite sure what this thread is about. You said you've rented to a single family, so what's the difference between that and a single mother?

Her income and credit check should be mandatory regardless of who the tenant is. Ditto any other checks you were thinking about. I just don't know whhy a single mother requires extra vetting. The noise thing is a concern, absolutely. But it seems like there's something I'm missing here.

I don't think you want a professional male who's going to be leaving in a year, because you're just looking for another tenant soon and re-painting/re-showing the place next year. 

And I don't think babysitting should come into this at all in any way, shape, or form. It's asking for a ton of trouble. You're her landlord, not her childcare. Start mixing those roles up and things are going to go poorly for sure.


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## I'm Howard (Oct 13, 2010)

I am sensing some concerns about possible ramifications, and it seems the Single and Dependant are causing some doubts, I always err on the side of caution, and Yes you may learn something, but at what price.

Single, what about Boy Friend or Boy Friends, or Ex, is he liable to come banging on the door or suddenly reappear because all is forgiven????


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## financialnoob (Feb 26, 2011)

I don't know. I mean he's rented to single men before, and crazy ex-GFs are just as likely as crazy ex-BFs. 

And he's rented to a family before so the dependent shouldn't be the issue either.

I just seems like some part of the story is missing. Is she smoking hot or something? Did she wear a tinfoil hat to the viewing? Was her employment letter written in crayon? 

I just don't see how single mother, as a criteria by itself, is cause for concern. It could combine with other factors, absolutely. I've met some awful single mothers, just as I've met some great single mothers. I've met good and bad for pretty much every demographic. Just not sure why this one sends up a red flag.


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

By a single family, I meant one family with functional mom dad and kid who isn't a baby that cries in the middle of the night.

The sound proofing is pretty bad.

Yeah, I'll just say no to babysitting for 5 minutes while she runs out to grab some milk. That should set the right tone for the future.

I found out that the kid is in kindergarden and the reason why she's leaving is because the house she's living in right now is being sold by the owner.


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## I'm Howard (Oct 13, 2010)

Causalien, three months from now or when it works, resurrect this thread and let us all know how it turned out?


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## financialnoob (Feb 26, 2011)

Gotcha, thanks for the clarification.

Do you know how long she lived there prior to the owner selling it? A long period of tenancy is often a pretty good indicator that they're a good tenant, or at least one that didn't get evicted for a while.

The one thing with single-parent families is that money is more of an issue simply because there's only one income, and one dependent. But if she's at a decent income level, shouldn't matter.


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

She's a long term tenant. That was the first reason why I even considered this.


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## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

You know what sets off a red flag for me? 

Anyone who rents an apartment without a stove. 

Just saying...this is a pretty standard feature.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

ooh great starter for a sitcom here.

she's a long term tenant.

he's definitely interested.

first they have to share the stove.

in time he'll get used to the kid.

cosy.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

It sounds like you guys will be room mates if you have to share the cooking facilities.And do you know what is involved to make it legal for a second stove?Do you have permits and planning approval to do it?We did this once and cost us $6000 just to put in proper windows and because bedroom windows have to be certain % of square footage we had to resize the rooms to get the unit legally passed.Truthfully I would be more concerned for the tenant than you as what if she moves in and you hit a wall with the permit people?

I rent a house to a single mother with one child , she gets $2700 a month child support so I would not assume they all are bad with paying


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

As somebody who has five rental houses now , I would draw the line clearly on landlord and tenant relationship.Babysit her kid ?you have to be nuts to even consider it and she would have to be equally insane to leave her kid with you.


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## Sherlock (Apr 18, 2010)

She never asked him to babysit, he just assumed that she will. This "Causalien" guy seems kind of weird, there's just something strange about the things he says and the questions he asks.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

Sherlock said:


> She never asked him to babysit, he just assumed that she will. This "Causalien" guy seems kind of weird, there's just something strange about the things he says and the questions he asks.


I'm thinking he isn't really cut out to be a landlord.


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

yeah, this is getting too complicated. I am renting it out to someone else. Hopefully, I'll recoup the suite conversion cost somehow.

Some of you have to understand that not everyone has 4 rental units and is just trying to bootstrapping out of a second suite of the house.


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## Dana (Nov 17, 2009)

How old is the child? I would think twice if it is a teenager. 

The good thing about renting to parents is that they don't like to move. They don't like to uproot their kids or change schools. So, if she is a good tenant, she might last a while.


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