Would you as landlords take a chance on this tenant applicant?

I posted an add for my two bedroom townhouse on CL. I man called me last week saying he was currently living in a property in town in which the owners had been killed in a car accident (true story which was on the news). He stated the property was in probate because the owners were deceased and he had no idea if he was going to get put out due to foreclosure. He mentioned that he was a minister going through a divorce and his credit was a bit shakey but he needed to move asap. He also told me he was working with the New Orleans redevelopment plan and traveled back and forth from my state to Louisiana weekly to work for about four days. In small talk, he mentioned his 30 year-old daughter recently went blind and then he began to compliment me on how smart I sounded since I understood what his group was attempting to do in the rebuilding of New Orleans. Then he says he could send me documentation of all the projects and proposals they were working on as proof of business, plus he wanted my opinion on the matter since I have knowledge of such things. He sent me 12 emails of this stuff. Then he says he was willing to pay two months rent to get started, though I was only asking for the first month's rent and a $650 deposit. Upon googling his name I discovered that he had had ties to Dr. Henry Lyons in the late 90s. He THEN asked me what I did for a living because I sounded pretty intelligent and he was not having much luck dealing with certain people who understood his business. He said he would be flying back into town in a couple of days and would like to meet to check out the property. However, he calls me the next morning at 930am leaving a message asking me to email him an application. I ignored his call and the three other ones that followed. I was able to use my public database to check out his business credentials and he does have a legitimate business in downtown New Orleans. However, I also saw where he was arrested in 1997 for trying to buy $20 worth of cocaine from an undercover cop. Knowing all of this, would you have taken a chance and rented to this guy or ignored him like I did?

4 months ago - 7 answers