Also, some people are just very emotional about these types of decisions. We had a landlord who took $100/month off our rent (unprompted) when he found out we had recently graduated from the same school he went to. He was a nice guy and so did not want to be a landlord - he had purchased the place as a tax shelter basically so it was worth a lot to him to rent to two responsible, handy, trustworthy adults.
Could be the Asian thing, could be that you were attractive as a professional couple, could be that the guy didn't have a steady job/didn't have good credit/didn't have good references/etc. Some landlords would prefer a couple over a single person (who they may see as more likely to throw parties, have randoms coming into the building, etc.), and some landlords are wary of pay-up-front arrangements.
It is interesting, but I don't think you'll ever get to the bottom of it.
It is something I'd think about, but in the end I'd just be happy that I got the apartment over the other applicants. There are probably so many factors at play, that it could be one or a number of things that figured into you 'winning'.
Enjoy the apartment and the "discount" you got it for.
Post by expatpumpkin on Oct 23, 2014 11:30:04 GMT -5
Agents told us we had better chances of securing rentals in London (I assume you're in London?) since we're a professional married couple. Evidently, landlords prefer marrieds over non-marrieds over roommates. And we even had a small (amazingly well-behaved) dog… Your being Asian certainly couldn't have hurt
It's hard to say without knowing the background of the other person.
Wouldn't most landlords take slightly less money and clean, responsible tenants over slightly more money and a complete dipshit for a tenant? I mean, that extra 25/week doesn't mean much if he trashes the place.
Maybe? But it could have been a number of other things. For example, I made an offer over asking on an apartment last year, and the landlord rejected me because she decided to go with someone who didn't have pets (even though it was advertised as pet friendly). Maybe there was something about the other guy that just didn't work as well for the type of renter she was looking for.
I also do think some landlords are emotional about things, particularly landlords who don't own a lot of properties. My landlord and I clicked pretty much instantly and she rented me the place before doing any sort of background check, didn't cash my deposit until I moved in (4 months later - that was a risk! What if I didn't actually have the money and she was holding the place for me? lol). She just liked me and had a good feeling about me. And of course she was right
I almost wonder if it had anything to do with you being American, too. Or at least foreign. Maybe I'm just a nerd but I get so excited when I get to interact with someone from another place! It automatically makes you more interesting than another Londoner. I'd totally pick a Londoner over another American if I was choosing someone to deal with! (and did, actually, lol. My BF is from London).
For one of the apartments we looked at, they chose us over another prospective tenant because the prospective tenants were students (even though their offer was also higher) and we were professionals.
My guess is that the other guy offered a year up front because he had some "undesirable" characteristic (e.g. no job, poor credit, history of eviction) and the landlord decided it wasn't worth the risk.
My landlord allowed our dog, the first dog ever in the complex. She told me she was going to rent to me no matter what because of our history as a home owner. She didn't require an extra pet deposit because she said previous home owners are the best tenants and in her 40 years of owning multiple complexes, she has never had problems with people like us.
My mom and I went to visit a very small private school for my oldest. It was an open house. It really is a nice school and everything that I'd want for her in a school. I think there are like 28 kids total, K-5, STEM/Montessori. They kept harping on diversity-only thing is if we sent her she WOULD BE the diversity.
I think one of the kids has gay parents, but all of them are white. None of them are foreign born, all of them are native English speakers, etc.
My mom and I were joking around that if we sent her they should offer us a discount because I'm pretty sure her brown face would be all over the website, especially the admissions page.
I'v been the token person of color before. Or one of like six in a school of 500ish. When you grow up going to Catholic schools in Boston you end up in classes with mostly Irish and Italian Catholics.
At least I had my sister and like two other Asian kids in the school. I only remember one black kid in high school.
I went to a school like that once. My parents moved around a lot, but one school was K-8 and I went from 4th-7th. The entire time, my brother and I were the only Asian, except for this one boy who was in my class for a month before moving away and a younger Hispanic girl that only stayed 2 weeks. But I fit in fine because small school/small town and everyone was super nice. Southern hospitality lol.
You guys have a stable career, are a married couple and as homeowners you are probably going to take care of their place better than their other candidates so I'm sure that's the reason why they chose you over more money
Ok, so it's just the typical "Asians are smart, therefore successful"? I thought maybe there was some stereotype that Asians are really clean or really quiet or something else that would lead them to be considered better tenants.
I'm sure there's a chemistry aspect. Our landlords just knocked 10% off of our rent to get us to stay longer (and they were renting to us for less than their asking price, anyway) - they didn't want to try to get $550/month more from someone who wouldn't care for the property like we do, and they like us.
I feel the same way about the people in our house - even though they have terrible taste, I like them and I'm comfortable with them in my home. Having good tenants is more important than a bit of $$ in my opinion.
I don't know. Having been a landlord myself, I'd be a bit suspicious of someone with the money to pay a year up front. If they are that sure of themselves, I might worry that they wouldn't be too concerned with damaging the apartment. I bet it's something credit/rental history related, though. The one tenant I took despite a less-than-stellar history promised me double my normal deposit and rent paid weekly instead of monthly. Yeah, they turned out to be crazy and threatened to kill me when I tried to evict them for non-payment.
You never know why the other people lost out over you. Be happy the apartment is yours!
Ok, so it's just the typical "Asians are smart, therefore successful"? I thought maybe there was some stereotype that Asians are really clean or really quiet or something else that would lead them to be considered better tenants.
It's kind of all of that. Asians have a reputation for being smart, responsible, good with money, etc.
Did you mention not wearing shoes in the house? Maybe that was the deciding factor.
Post by teatimefor2 on Oct 23, 2014 16:39:58 GMT -5
I don't think being Asian has anything to do with it. Being Americans on an ex-pat package might have. A lot of landlords prefer a professional working couple.
Our landlords just knocked a few hundred dollars off of our rent to get us to stay longer, we had no intention of moving either, we already rent for below market value in our area - they didn't want to try to get $$$ a month more from someone who wouldn't care for the property like we do, and they like us. My DH was confused but they really like the fact that we take care of their house, don't bother them about minor things that we can fix and know that we intend to be there for a while as we have a child in 2nd grade and I really don't want to move and change schools.
Are you sure that other offer wasn't from someone who was Asian?
Here (Korea), I've been told the normal way of renting a flat is to pay for the year's rent up front. Could be that they offered to do that because it was the normal thing for them to do...
I don't think being Asian has anything to do with it. Being Americans on an ex-pat package might have. A lot of landlords prefer a professional working couple.
Post by changedname on Oct 24, 2014 8:54:29 GMT -5
I can't imagine it had anything to do with you being Asian. I just don't feel that Asians in the US sense* have as many stereotypes surrounding them as they do in the USA. I would think it was way more about you being Americans and on an expat package.
When I sold my house, I went for a lower offer based on gut feeling, financials and a nice letter with a smiley face that their agent sent me. Who knows what determines decision like that?
* I say this because Asian in the UK = Indian, Pakistani etc not Chinese/Japanese.