Rental Callers UPSET with me BECAUSE I am ADVISING them How to PRESENT Their Situation

I received a call yesterday from a woman who wanted to view a property and when I asked when they needed to move - she gave me a SPECIFIC date....RED FLAG!

I asked her how many in her family? She said her, her husband, their son and daughter in law. RED FLAG!

I asked her if they had pets? Yes, one dog. OK!

I asked where she worked and she told me and I asked where her husband worked and she told me. I asked where her son and daughter-in-law worked and she told me.

I was having to DRAG information from her in my PREscreening process which told me to continue.

I asked why she had to move on Xdate? AND then she told me that that was the date the bank was taking over their current home.

I asked if she was in FORECLOSURE? She said YES!

I asked if she had credit issues now and she said YES! They had filed BANKRUPTCY.

I asked if their bankruptcy had been DISCHARGED? She said she did not know and did not think so. I asked her who her bankruptcy attorney was and when she told me I knew she had gone to a bankruptcy "mill".

I told her that I could not rent to her. The foreclosure was not an issue; however, since their bankruptcy had not been discharged, I could not determine their income to debt ratio since they could add creditors to their list in bankruptcy.

She seemed to not understand. I suggested that she find out when her bankruptcy was being discharged and that she might want to be more forthcoming with her family's credit and financial situation.

SHE then got UPSET with me because I had ALL of her financial situation and STILL would not rent to her. They were GOOD PEOPLE with GOOD JOBS and while I indicated I appreciated her situation and that I was sure that they were GOOD PEOPLE, that I could not sign a lease with them and end up on her creditors list because their bankruptcy had not been discharged.

After she THANKED me....10 minutes later, her husband called me telling me I was RUDE to his wife and that HE wanted to know why I would not rent to them. I gave him the short version beginning with they needed to be MORE forthcoming with their situation and that they needed to get their bankruptcy discharged ASAP to locate a rental property.

He TOO got upset with me and the LIGHT BULB when on that these people STILL did not realize why they were in the situation they were in.

GOOD PEOPLE have HORRIBLE things happen to them....and I am not ARGUING with that truth or with them; however, being HONEST with their situation and working to MAKE IT BETTER by LISTENING and NOT being thin-skinned and self-conscious about the PAST OR attacking the MESSENGER may be the ONLY way they can move forward and get a landlord to rent to them.