New Tenant Wants to Pay Deposit and Month In Advance by Cheque

Snazzy_Chazzy

Hi there, so a Chap viewed a room I have in my House last night and said he would like to take it. As usual I said one Month In advance and 1 months deposit up front. He called me 1 hour later and said he could move in Saturday but would I take a Cheque for the Full amount. I Told him a bank transfer would be better, but he said he would prefer to give a cheque........... Ehhh I assume this is 100% Dodgy ! Or a sting operation Where he has his ass covered for a weeks job hunting then is covered if he doesnt get a job and im stung lol :cool:

Side note he seemed Genuine enough chap, but said he was doing Interviews IN dublin and Nothing concrete yet!
If he can write a cheque surely he
A: Has the money in the bank
B: Can do a bank transfer.

D3PO

I wouldn't accept it. Cash or bank transfer before he moves in otherwise get somebody else.

gaius c

I'm both a tenant and a landlord.
I've always given cheques when moving into a place and I've always accepted cheques from new tenants. Never a problem with either. If I felt a new tenant was going to give me a dodgy cheque, I wouldn't have let the property to them in the first place.

See it from his point of view...what if YOU were a chancer? Once the money is in his account, he has no comeback and you could leg it. At least he could cancel a cheque.

Rasmus

Snazzy_Chazzy wrote: »

Hi there, so a Chap viewed a room I have in my House last night and said he would like to take it. As usual I said one Month In advance and 1 months deposit up front. He called me 1 hour later and said he could move in Saturday but would I take a Cheque for the Full amount. I Told him a bank transfer would be better, but he said he would prefer to give a cheque........... Ehhh I assume this is 100% Dodgy ! Or a sting operation Where he has his ass covered for a weeks job hunting then is covered if he doesnt get a job and im stung lol :cool:

Side note he seemed Genuine enough chap, but said he was doing Interviews IN dublin and Nothing concrete yet!
If he can write a cheque surely he
A: Has the money in the bank
B: Can do a bank transfer.

You could accept the cheque with the agreement that you only hand over keys when the money clears. It would be chancing it otherwise.

by the seaside

Maybe he doesn't have the money in his account today but will by the time the cheque clears?

Rasmus

by the seaside wrote: »

Maybe he doesn't have the money in his account today but will by the time the cheque clears?

Then he should say he can move in on X date.

srsly78

There is no reason to use cheques anymore. People that can't do a simple transfer using online banking are unnecessary hassle.

If they use the same bank as you the transfer should be instant, otherwise 2 working days.

by the seaside

Rasmus wrote: »

Then he should say he can move in on X date.

Except in this scenario he wants to move in now and can get away with it if the cheque is accepted!

Rasmus

by the seaside wrote: »

Except in this scenario he wants to move in now and can get away with it if the cheque is accepted!

Why would the LL/guy who rents the room want to take that chance? I woudn't take a cheque myself, and I would be worried if there's someone living in the room who has essentially not yet paid.

folan

i always paid by cheque and always received a cheque back when i left for deposits.

would you suggest i dont give keys back until the cheque clears?

by the seaside

Rasmus wrote: »

Why would the LL/guy who rents the room want to take that chance? I woudn't take a cheque myself, and I would be worried if there's someone living in the room who has essentially not yet paid.

It's like many a business transaction. If you're struggling to let it and feel the guy seems OK, then it might be worth it.

If there are other potential tenants knocking at the door, then it probably isn't worth it.

valleyoftheunos

I don't think it is normal to accept cheques in this situation so I would be unlikely to do so myself.

the_syco

I find it a bit dodge that he's giving you a cheque on a Saturday, when it'll take 4 business days (ie; Thursday) to clear. How are his references? Ask the references questions that landlords should know, in case you're just ringing his buddy Bob...

gaius c

srsly78 wrote: »

There is no reason to use cheques anymore. People that can't do a simple transfer using online banking are unnecessary hassle.

If they use the same bank as you the transfer should be instant, otherwise 2 working days.

Well if you're doing a viewing and one person says on the spot, I'll make a cheque out to you now and the other says I'll transfer the money when I get home, who do you go with? One in the hand is worth two in the bush.

I'll take the cheque every time for the deposit and as a tenant, I'd be very slow to hand over cash or do a cash transfer to somebody I've no business relationship with. At least, you have some level of comeback with a cheque.

Obviously, regular repayments should be done by standing order.

Ray Palmer

Don't take the risk. If he can write a cheque he can cash a cheque. Unless he wants to wait till the cheque clears.

It is the basis for so many scams to use a cheque.

valleyoftheunos

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Don't take the risk. If he can write a cheque he can cash a cheque. Unless he wants to wait till the cheque clears.

It is the basis for so many scams to use a cheque.

Absolutely, he wants to give you a cheque and get keys on a Saturday knowing you can't find out if its dodgy or made of rubber until Monday. I wouldn't risk it. Tell him you'll accept the cheque but you won't give him keys until it clears and see what he says.

srsly78

gaius c wrote: »

Well if you're doing a viewing and one person says on the spot, I'll make a cheque out to you now and the other says I'll transfer the money when I get home, who do you go with? One in the hand is worth two in the bush.

I'll take the cheque every time for the deposit and as a tenant, I'd be very slow to hand over cash or do a cash transfer to somebody I've no business relationship with. At least, you have some level of comeback with a cheque.

Obviously, regular repayments should be done by standing order.

Last time I rented a new place we gave the landlord about e500 in cash on the spot (and got receipt). The rest of the deposit+first months rent was to be transferred electronically asap.

engineermike

Hi,
If you like the tennant overall - and he / she ticks the normal boxes (payment method aside).
Can you not say " I would prefer cash or EFT transfer" if that's feasible.

Otherwise if you have no faith in the cheque system of payment - just say yes you can pay by cheque (today - "friday") and collect the keys and occupy next "friday".

Or alternatively make a 2 week part payment in cash to take instant occupancy & the balance in a cheque which you can lodge and allow time to clear while you have a margin for error / refer to drawer cheque, etc. or whatever your concern is.
I have to say, the other posters that mentioned the question that seems to be in your mind over this persons ability to pay or there ability to honor a cheque is note worthy.
If my gut was telling me not to take a cheque off a person, i certainly wouldn't be letting my property to them.
mike f

PhilMcGee

I dont see a problem with cheques at all.
If you wanted to mitigate the risk tell them there is a €20 charge if they give you a cheque. Then they can decide to give you an extra €20 or just give you cash instead.

pawrick

I know for myself paying in to an account can be a right pain as it means either doing it online which involves the bank posting the set up code to me which will take a few days or going in to the bank in person and lodging the money in to the payees account. Also consider his postal address with the bank may not be in the county he intends renting in if he's there to look for work.

If the persons references are in order it's up to you to give them the benefit of the doubt but only if you wish. I would not consider it odd if someone wanted to pay the deposit and first months rent by cheque however as a previous poster pointed out it adds security for the tenant also. Apart from saying you were renting the place did you give them any evidence that you were the landlord and not just the current tenant trying to pull a fast one? It works both ways.

srsly78

pawrick wrote: »

I know for myself paying in to an account can be a right pain as it means either doing it online which involves the bank posting the set up code to me which will take a few days or going in to the bank in person and lodging the money in to the payees account. Also consider his postal address with the bank may not be in the county he intends renting in if he's there to

You can easily and instantly set up a new recipient using your phone, the bank texts you a verification code. Stop using the slow post method!

pawrick

srsly78 wrote: »

You can easily and instantly set up a new recipient using your phone, the bank texts you a verification code. Stop using the slow post method!

Just tried as last time BOI didn't work for me when I tried. You have to register the phone first and they send this code by post and then you can go ahead as you said. Vast improvement on the way it was but still includes post to begin with.

the_syco

So... I was hoping for an update. Any update OP?