Confirming Landlord on Application
Bourbonnais, IL · Member since 2014 · 14 posts · 0 votes
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?
If you haven't been able to get the landlord's contact info on your own, then you have to start out by asking questions that a landlord would consider normal, but a friend of the applicant would wonder about (and think about saying "wrong number"). Things like "Do you have any units available for rent now?" Another good one to try is to give the wrong address for the rental unit that the applicant supplied, and for a different length of time; the real landlord will say that isn't the correct address, the friend won't know the difference sometimes: "I see that this tenant of yours rented the unit at XYZ address for the last 5 years" and wait for the corrections.
But I always try to get phone numbers on my own, based on the rental address that was given (and the employers' names that were given too). I look up the tax records for the property address for that rental unit, and that gets me the landlord's name and address. I use google searches to try to find the phone number that goes with that name and address. Even unpublished numbers will sometimes show up in the google "cached" info that is part of the "preview" of the page link that the search returns - and that happens even for sites where you would have to pay or subscribe to get the results.
Check the tax records for the address they gave for this landlord's property to see if the name matches. Then take the address you find for the owner of the property and do a reverse search to see if you can find a phone number associated with that address.
This may or may not work for you. I've learned more than once to always trust my gut.
Good luck to you!
I do exactly what @Ursula B. does, before I even call the "landlord". If the name on the tax record does not match what the tenant put on the application, I'll ask them why. I've learned a few times that the actual owner was a relative of the tenant, but when I ask why they didn't put that person's name on the app, the ruse usually falls apart right there.
If you haven't been able to get the landlord's contact info on your own, then you have to start out by asking questions that a landlord would consider normal, but a friend of the applicant would wonder about (and think about saying "wrong number"). Things like "Do you have any units available for rent now?" Another good one to try is to give the wrong address for the rental unit that the applicant supplied, and for a different length of time; the real landlord will say that isn't the correct address, the friend won't know the difference sometimes: "I see that this tenant of yours rented the unit at XYZ address for the last 5 years" and wait for the corrections.
But I always try to get phone numbers on my own, based on the rental address that was given (and the employers' names that were given too). I look up the tax records for the property address for that rental unit, and that gets me the landlord's name and address. I use google searches to try to find the phone number that goes with that name and address. Even unpublished numbers will sometimes show up in the google "cached" info that is part of the "preview" of the page link that the search returns - and that happens even for sites where you would have to pay or subscribe to get the results.
welcome to the site.
Can you disqualify them for other reasons? Do you have another more qualified applicant?
Thanks for all the suggestions. While they have a credit score of 733 they have had a bankruptcy in 2007, 6 collections. I'm still reviewing the credit report. She has two male adults and one high school son that will be living in the home with her.
I believe one adult is her husband or boyfriend and one is her father. I plan to do back ground checks on them before approval is made.
She told me she may be suing her current landlord. Said she had a lease with an option to buy and has a $5,000 security deposit up for a $1,300 monthly rent. I've asked her to explain why her security deposit was so high. Her reason for leaving her current place is "unsafe condition for family, misrepresentation of where deposit will go". Told me when I showed her the home I have for rent that the heater was not working...I have left two voice mails for the current landlord and have not gotten a call back.
@Niles Crum welcome aboard. It's nice to speak with you. The wealth of information here both what is already published and when you ask a question and get responses is overwhelming. Just be sure you screen each adult as she can be the face of the other two that are much worst than she is.
I was going to suggest you call the landlord and ask if they have any vacancies. A friend will hesitate for a second a landlord will not. But Steve not only beat me to it but gave additional great tips. Tips that I am now going to use. Remember if you "feel" like something is going on....... Wait for it....... IT IS!.
Thanks for all the suggestions. While they have a credit score of 733 they have had a bankruptcy in 2007, 6 collections. I'm still reviewing the credit report. She has two male adults and one high school son that will be living in the home with her.
I believe one adult is her husband or boyfriend and one is her father. I plan to do back ground checks on them before approval is made.
She told me she may be suing her current landlord. Said she had a lease with an option to buy and has a $5,000 security deposit up for a $1,300 monthly rent. I've asked her to explain why her security deposit was so high. Her reason for leaving her current place is "unsafe condition for family, misrepresentation of where deposit will go". Told me when I showed her the home I have for rent that the heater was not working...I have left two voice mails for the current landlord and have not gotten a call back.
Did you get a separate application for each prospective tenant who is age 18 or older? How do their applications look? You should know the relationship of all people who will be parties to the agreement before even starting to process the applications.
Credit reports are also great for finding previous addresses. Look for additional addresses in the credit report that the applicant did not mention. Go back at least 5 years on residential history. That is, for each adult, find out where they lived during the last 5 years. Gaps are a red flag; dig deeper.
About the credit score (for me this is less important than other factors, as I am not lending money)... "they" have a credit score of 733... all three or only the woman? Did you obtain the report independently, or did she present it to you? About the collections... are they for previous landlords or for utilities? What is her debt to income ratio?
However, when you said she told you she may be suing her current landlord, RED FLAG. Extra high security deposit, RED FLAG. Reason for leaving her current place - "unsafe for family (in what way?) and misrepresentation of where deposit will go (how so?)", RED FLAG. No return calls from current landlord (yet you talked to someone who gave you a glowing report), RED FLAG. Already pointing out defects in your unit, RED FLAG. Also, trust your gut... if it smells like a fish it probably is a fish. NEXT!
Setting your rental criteria in advance and then doing good tenant screening is key. For an example, check out mine in the BP File Place... go to the blue bar at top, Resources, File Place, Other Documents and download the files. I don't even show our units until the prospective tenant has passed our screening. Saves a lot of time and is also safer for me. I also check ID before I run the applications.
Normally, I would agree that suing current landlord is a red flag. But in this case, the applicant mentioned a "lease option", and often the promoter (landlord here) of these is scamming and just interested in churning the unit to another lease option victim applicant. The higher deposit is what is usually called the "option consideration", so that is again the by-product of the lease option.
So the suit might be an attempt to recover money lost in a scam. It's hard to tell ...
Here is where I am so far:
1. I will be running a background check on the two other adults, one for sure is her husband but I don't think he is working and the other is her father, not working. She has a son who is a football star in the area high school. Don't expect to get any glowing credit rating from them but want to make sure they have no criminal records.
2. Credit score of 773. Talked to her employer yesterday - HR department. They said "I have never met this employee so since she has worked her for 15 years that is a good sign at this company". She would not verify income without a verification form so I sent that to them yesterday and expect to hear back today.
3. I confirmed her previous, not current, landlord is legit. Tax records show he owns the property and the address on the application is his home address and tax records confirm that. Former landlord said she was never late on rent, broke the terms of her lease once but paid for that (had a nephew move in but paid $100 per month extra), left the place in great shape and her mother moved in right after her so his place was not vacant one day. Said, "I wish all of them were that good.
4. I have called twice to her current landlord. My place is in IL and her current landlord has moved to AZ. CAN I DECLINE HER IF I CHOOSE TO BASED ON NOT BEING ABLE TO TALK TO HER CURRENT LANDLORD WITHOUT WORRY OF LAWSUIT? I will keep trying to contact her to get the other side of the story.
5. Regarding deposit, potential tenant says: "I don't know if you remember that I explained to you I was doing a rent with option to buy from Rev. Jewell, she charged me initially $6300.00, first and last month and a $3700.00 administration fee. Something we will probably be going to small claims court for in the near future. Finding out later that she don't have rental licence, I decided not to buy because of the condition of the home and refusal to fix dangerous conditions of the home she started asking for an enormous amount of money and refused to return the deposit claiming it was so I could rent the home. At this moment my family and I cannot use the heat because Home Appliances said it is unsafe to operate and she is refusing to fix it. That is why I am trying hard to find a place for me and my family"
Any additional feedback will be appreciated. I'm new at this but I have read over and over again this is the most important step in making this a successful venture - getting the right tenant in. I have no other interested parties, maybe due to the time of year, but I am ok with leaving it empty to get the right tenant. But I don't want to refuse someone that has just had a bit of bad luck with her current landlord.
One last thought - I told her I typically require the last 5 landlords. She says she has only had two landlords. These go back 6 years. I do see an additional address on her credit report. Is there a way to find out if she owned or rented that place? Maybe tax records would show the owner at the time she lived there? If she is being honest, that third address must of been a home she owned or she was living with a relative....???
Did you read my previous post about lease options? Sounds like she did get scammed. And the scammer won't be calling you back or answering your calls out of fear that you are aware of the scam.
Asking for 5 landlords is silly. Especially if they lived in one place for over ten years. Stick to asking for landlords over a specific period of time, or two most recent if there was only one landlord for that entire period.
Steve I did not read your article about lease options. I'm new to this site - how do I find it? Thanks for the advice on the time period regarding landlords. For this one I would feel a lot better if I was able to talk to more than one landlord. There is a proverb that states, the first to present their case seems just until someone comes to question... While I want to believe her, it would make me feel a lot better if I could talk to her current landlord, but you are likely correct, she will not return my calls.
Scroll up a little to read what I wrote a couple of posts back ...
The landlord previous to current landlord is usually considered to be an accurate assessment, assuming that landlord was not friend or family.
Yes, I read that - I thought you meant you wrote an article posted someone on the Bigger Pockets website. It does sound like she got scammed. I would just like to hear the other side of the story.
Asking for 5 landlords is silly. Especially if they lived in one place for over ten years. Stick to asking for landlords over a specific period of time, or two most recent if there was only one landlord for that entire period.
I called on a previous landlord from six years ago. That person did remember the tenant and was surprised anyone was calling on someone from that long ago.
Update. I just talked to her current landlord. She was "distant" at best. Interrupted me and asked me who I was ( I had already introduced myself ). She then said, who are you with? I said, I am not with anyone, I am a owner of a few properties that I rent but I don't represent anyone. She said, Oh, you are like me then. She would not confirm the rent amount, rather she countered with, "what did the tenant tell you?" When I said $1,300 she said, "that is correct". She renewed the lease once with her. She said "it appears" they are taking good care of the property. When I asked if she would rent to her again she said, "no". When I asked why, she said "because I am selling the property". I countered with "I understand that but if you had a property to rent, would you rent to her again"? She said I won't answer that question. I told her that her tenant informed me that the property she was renting from her was unsafe and if she would comment on that and she said, "no, I won't comment on that". Only that "I have a realtor involved and we are getting the property ready to sell.
If you recall from the original post, the tenant had a lease with an option to buy. Hard for me to determine what is going on here but it sounds to me like the tenant might have some legitimate concern here with her landlord and the place. Your thoughts?
One more request. I use Smart Move for credit and background checks per recommendation on a post I read in Bigger Pockets. However, while her husband has an email address, her father does not. I have the father's social security number. Any recommendation on getting a credit and background check with a social security number only?
Go to RentPrep.com to run the background check without an e-mail address. You will need his ss# and his DOB.
@Niles Crum Do you really not see any better applicants coming in? This sounds really complicated already and you haven't even finished the checks. I think you'll regret renting to this family.
Nicole, I don't have any applicants. I now am more concerned with a potential discrimination case if I don't rent to her unless I find a valid reason to turn her away since she will see that I am still running ads to rent it. So I can't just tell her a have a more valid applicant.
Is the prospective tenant's current rental address near you? Drive there and see the property for yourself. You can get an idea of how they are taking care of the place, especially if you show up unexpectedly. Heck she might even show you what she considers to be "unsafe" about her current residence. Your visit may confirm what she is telling you is true.
You don't need an email address to do credit/background checks. However you do need a signed release that allows you to legitimately do so. If the husband and father completed a rental application you should have their dated signatures along with the common verbiage that allows you to do use the information on the application form to do background checks. There are many companies that do credit/background checks for a modest fee.
Marcia, thanks for the input. I did a drive by earlier today. The house looked well cared for on the outside, yard work and landscaping well cared for.
Nicole, I don't have any applicants. I now am more concerned with a potential discrimination case if I don't rent to her unless I find a valid reason to turn her away since she will see that I am still running ads to rent it. So I can't just tell her a have a more valid applicant.
If you have established rental criteria and the members of this household meet your criteria, fine. If not, deny them on the basis of the criteria they did not meet. Make sure your rental criteria is in compliance with non-discrimnation laws and the landlord-tenant laws for your jurisdiction. Educate yourself about fair housing laws if you are not already familiar with them.