This landlord is still trying to get his money!

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He's candidly said the current contract runs till august, but he's confident it and his visa will be renewed. So the worst case as far as that is a 9 month lease. I've had tenants break a lease after 3 months. Even holding them to the lease and losing no rent in a transition to a new tenant it was a pain in the ass. You just never know no matter what they say.

I've thought about the furnished apt thing, loosely known as a B&B apt. If I had a ground floor apt available I think I could easily rent it for visiting parents and relatives. Have you looked at the hotel prices around here?!!. I have a nice 2nd floor unit, but parents don't like stairs.

GP is totally on the mark with his advisement .

You would best be served by contacting his employer GS to get further details .

Rgds
CK

PM me and I'll tell you my thoughts and experience.

Just make sure he is who he says he is -- GS can tell you that they use his firm. Also do ask for a letter from his company stating how long they plan to have him in JC.

You know, if you are willing to gamble with short term renters from outside the USA - you might consider creating a furnished apartment and have short leases -- you could get a real premium -- not sure about here but it is common elsewhere.

Too many headaches for me!

Good Luck with it!

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thanks GP,

I actually don't mind if he's only here a year, the apt needs more reno work done on it, but the timing right now is bad for me, I'm too busy.

He says there's no point in talking to G-S, since they're simply the clients of his firm, not his employer.

I just don't know, we've been pretty lucky with good, low maintainance tenants, I just don't want to push it.

Brewster,
It is a gamble because you can only take a maximum of one and a half months rent as a security deposit. You can't check how he has been with landlords in the past and he might not care if he leaves your apartment on a bad note -- you can't threaten to ruin his credit.

Also he might not last a whole year (he likely won't)-- I myself like to try to get people who will stay for many years but if you don't care then you can take a risk on him.

I would talk to a contact at Goldman Sachs and I would also talk to his company here -- they will give you a letter saying how long they plan to keep him in Jersey City (how long his contract is with GS). It would help talking to them to get their take on things -- it might differ from what he has told you -- which would be interesting to know up front.

I would want to get a tenant who was going to be around for a long time if I were you -- but as everyone knows you also have to take gambles sometimes.

I don't rent apartments in Jersey City so you know the rental market here better than I do. Good Luck -- a bad tenant is a nightmare!

Remember that!

A nice young Indian gent wants to rent an apartment from me, but he has no local credit history as he works for an Indian firm doing contract work for Goldman-Sachs. He is going to provide me with documentation of his visa, employment and his salary, which is plenty sufficient to afford the place. But the local contact is not at G-S, but at the US offices of his firm.

Any clues as to what should I be cautious of, if anything, in this deal? It's kinda new territory for me, but I've rented in the past, before getting cautious, to folks with less apparent substance.