Confirming Landlord on Application
I have a gut feeling that a prospective tenant is supplying false information on the application. The landlord was "glowing" about her as a tenant. I tried a free phone lookup to confirm the number belongs to the name the prospect gave me for her previous landlord but can't get the number confirmed.
Is there a source to do an online check to see who the owner of a phone number is so I can be assured that she didn't give me a name of one of her friends to supply the reference?
Niles, @Marcia Maynard is right on criteria. Surely six collections is enough to dissuade you from these tenants and is a reasonable cause for rejection; if not then suing their present landlord should be, at least in your own mind. They sound pretty insistent about repairs too from the quotes you have posted. What are you going to do if they start making all sorts of unreasonable maintenance requests and/or fail to pay? I would worry about this much more than fallout from rejection. Reject and the most likely scenario is that this prospective tenant will move on to find another landlord as a mark.
Stephen, thanks so much for your post. Very helpful.
I'm just torn. Great reviews as far as paying on time from both landlords. Good report from her employer (but I am still waiting for income verification ) as she has worked at the same job for 15 years and never a trip to HR. But suing her landlord is a big concern to me. That said, after talking to the landlord she seemed a bit difficult to say the least.
I will probably pass on her but want to do the right thing. Thanks again!
I don't think things are adding up here as I would expect. 6 collections but credit score over 700? Hard to believe that those go together for the same person. Those collections might be really old given that bankruptcy occurred in 2007.
Rent is paid, and place looks like it is well kept - those are two good characteristics for a good tenant. Stable job is also good.
So what is so bad? Suing landlord - but the landlord seems to be a scammer, so I would look at that as more of suing a scammer rather than the landlord. Repairs not being performed by landlord could be viewed as bad - a sign of a complainer. But go look at the things that need repair to see whether this is legit or whether this tenant is a whiner.
Get the facts on those last two items, maybe even by looking at the lease the tenant has from the scamming landlord. If you are having little interest, this one might not be all bad ...
Steve,
Great post and excellent suggestions. Once I get confirmation from her employer on her income, which I expect to get today, I will contact her and tell her my concerns and ask to see her current lease agreement and about the place she is in now as "being unsafe". If all goes well I will accept her application. Thanks for taking time to provide this advice.
@Niles... as @Steve Babiak points out, there may be a very legitimate reason for her to file suit against her current landlord. I've been there.... I took my first landlord (management company) to court for keeping all of my security deposit when there was nothing to warrant it. I won back all of my security deposit, plus my expenses pursuing it.
Also, I would prefer to have a tenant that cares about where they live and will bring to my attention needs as they arise, than a silent one that doesn't tell you of a building defect and it causes more damage or an unsafe situation.
Be thorough in your tenant screening, make a decision and move forward. Don't expect tenants to be perfect. Just make sure they meet your minimum criteria to rent and go from there. Rarely will you find ideal tenants, but often you can find good ones.
Marcia, good post and suggestions - thanks!