Who are these landlords that are selecting tenants based on how fast they replied to an ad!?!
What happened to background checks, credit checks, and general tenant due diligence?
"Well Mr. Applicant, it says here on your application, you're a heroin addict with a history of extreme violence and a credit score of zero, you don't have the income or the deposit, and quite frankly, I'm not sure how you'll pay the rent. But you did respond to my ad in 6 milliseconds thanks to a python script, so I guess the apt is yours! Welcome home!"
I have a friend who is an apartment manager. I believe they typically accept the first qualified candidate that applies. So those items are still required, but they just create a binary condition. First to apply is an obvious tiebreaker that presumably doesn't cause any equal opportunity problems.
Of course those are still required. But as landlords sometimes receive several hundred replies to an ad you will not even make it into the further selection process if you're not fast, as most people just consider the first ten or twenty people and choose among them. In that sense they're not looking for the perfect renter, but just for an acceptable one.
I suppose this makes sense if you're renting a unit in a massive apartment block or from a large property management agency.
My guess is that a quicker reply would give you little to no advantage when it comes to mom&pop landlords who only have a couple units to lease out. All but one of the places I've rented have been from small time landlords and they seemed to put more work into than just who replied the fastest.
What happened to background checks, credit checks, and general tenant due diligence?
"Well Mr. Applicant, it says here on your application, you're a heroin addict with a history of extreme violence and a credit score of zero, you don't have the income or the deposit, and quite frankly, I'm not sure how you'll pay the rent. But you did respond to my ad in 6 milliseconds thanks to a python script, so I guess the apt is yours! Welcome home!"