Renting to Temporary Foreign Workers

[Rem]

Hi all,


I have had some interest in a property I have for rent from a group of temporary foreign workers. I have a very positive impression of them in all respects so far, my main concern at this point has to do with liability in the event there's damage to the unit and the tenants leave the country. They are being represented by an employment agency with offices in their country of origin who claims to have the ability to recover damages if necessary from them or through their employer. I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with these types of scenarios and what issues if any I should be on the lookout for that I may not have thought of.


I should reiterate that I've had a very positive first impression from the potential tenants and their agent.


Thanks a bunch in advance!

 

[DonBurton]

Take a damage deposit from the company prior to renting it. Tell them it will be returned as long as no damage is done.

 

[invst4profit]

Your first impression of the tenants and their agency one would hope would be very good otherwise they would never convince anyone to rent to them. For this reason alone you should negate your first impression and make your decision based strictly from a business perspective. Obviously you are not in the immigration business or providing housing through the government for immigrants. There is no reason to screen these individuals any different than any other applicant unless you intend to model your business around providing housing for migrants.

Have you done a credit check on the individuals. Of course not as there is no way to do a credit check on immigrants. What about contacting their present and previous landlords, again not possible. How about their present employer, no they don't have a employment history you can check, again what about the agency. Is there any way to do a background check on it and if you could would it be reliable. No.



Temporary foreign workers and the agencies that represent them can not be properly vetted to confirm their reliability. When they disappear you have no recourse and would be foolish to expect any assistance from a foreign agency to chase down debtors on your behalf.



Having said that it is possible to specialise on this demographic. However you can and should charge a considerably higher rent to cover damage and none payment. You will probably find they will cram numerous individuals into your property, they will likely have lower hygienic standards, and may impact neighbouring residents and properties with foreign cooking odors and possibly other issues customary to their home country.



High risk and definitely high maintenance, you would have to keep a very close eye on the property with at least monthly inspections, but financially very lucrative with far above average rents geared to risk.

 

[kfort]

I think the type of work they do is also a factor. Example: I rent to a gentleman who's here under the same circumstances and is a project manager for Graham construction... In my opinion, different than some other sponsored positions.