Astro is an 8-year-old British bulldog who was born just outside Dallas. Now a bit overweight at 85 pounds, Astro and his owner, Nate, have lived in five different apartments or townhomes since the two met during Nate’s final year of law school. Astro was just a 12-pound puppy with a fondness for slippers back then, but he didn’t stay a small dog for very long.
Astro was almost 50 pounds by his first birthday—a weight benchmark some Texas landlords traditionally use to cap rental eligibility; others add additional fees for dogs over 50 pounds. Nate and Astro moved three times in three years when Nate was a young lawyer just beginning his career, and each time the search for a new home was constrained to properties allowing a dog larger than 50 pounds (and growing!).
Nate soon learned, however, that providing potential landlords with an uninterrupted chain of vet records can go a long way toward being approved for a desired location. Astro regularly sees a veterinarian, and Nate has kept good records of his best friend’s vaccinations, health assessments and growth chart. Complete health and wellness histories have, with a little heart melting from Astro, even convinced a few property owners to bend the rules and grant Nate a lease.
Additionally, Nate has kept careful track of Astro’s registration records with the various local and state agencies over the years. These are the agencies that track potentially violent or problematic canines, and pointing to Astro’s clean “criminal” record has proved to be another valuable tool.
Complete vet and registration histories, coupled with letters of referral from previous landlords, have allowed Nate and Astro to land a new downtown apartment close to a park and within blocks of Nate’s office.
Quick Tips:
- Know Your History: Hiring a reputable company like MyRentalHistoryReport.com to provide your complete leasee profile puts in your hands the same information a potential landlord will use to determine your rent worthiness.
- Sell Yourself (and Fido!): Landlords are much more likely to rent to your if they have a chance to meet your pet before signing any documents. Dogs with gentle temperaments are easy to spot and can generally sell themselves with a few tail wags and face licks.
