Every applicant seems like a scam

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Every applicant seems like a scam

Jeffrey Duck
Coral Springs, FL · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 7 votes

Hi folks - I'm new to Bigger Pockets and to landlording. As I was getting started, I found a lot of great information here and hope it will be a good place to help me get started.

I recently inherited a triplex with 3/2 units. It was mostly trashed and I'm just about done renovating it. I have one unit ready to rent, and one more will be ready in a few days.

Due to my health and 'extended family' tenants, it took about a year to get started then about four months of construction. In the meantime, the postal carrier became my best friend by referring everyone to me who was in the neighborhood searching for a rental. 

The problem that I'm having is that EVERY prospective tenant so far has been a scam. My first one was a multi-state felon fake 'brain cancer' scammer. The second was a Realtor/tenant with real money but a fake ID and background. The third was a lawyer/CPA who is getting screwed by her current landlord and "just doesn't know what to do about it", etc. There's more background to these people's stories but I've verified them to all be scams.

Now I've stopped taking neighborhood referrals and setup an account on Rentalutions. Two listings went live on Zillow last night but haven't propagated to other sites yet. Today I've gotten 5 contacts from prospects. EVERY one of them either spell their name three different ways, can't even come close to filling out an application, and/or has some other background that's a problem. There's at least 2 red flags with every one of them.

I'm very good at Internet searching and within a few minutes I found criminal records, fake property ownership, old evictions, etc. with all of them. I'm starting to think that I'm paranoid and over searching things. I'm in South Florida which is a pretty scammy market (and I was ready for that) but it's getting ridiculous. I was honestly thinking that I got on some list and am getting my name sold as a scam prospect but now that I have a public listing, things haven't changed so that idea is out.

I'm wondering if there's something someone can identify that I might be doing wrong? Will this wash out over time? After a year, I'm ready to rent and start getting some income but not having even ONE reasonably honest (and even unqualified) prospect makes me wonder if I'm doing something completely wrong.

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Thomas S.
Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
10y

Stay away from realtors and PMs at this point in time. No one can do a better job of selecting tenants than a owner that has a vested interest. The risk with both Realtors and PMs, if you do not have a track record with them, is they will place the first applicant with a heart beat simply to get paid. If you get a bad tenant it is your fault not a agent or PM.

You need to tighten up your add, as suggested, to weed out tire kickers. In addition you may have your rent set too low. Low rent attracts the bottom feeders and you would be better to be too high starting out than too low. Set your standards high and you will attract higher quality applicants.

Application forms are the first stage of screening and low cost to you so just keep plugging along. 

You will only select one winner so if you have 100 applications you will have 99 losers.  

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  • Frank Nolan
    Residential Real Estate Agent · Rancho Palos Verdes, CA · Member since 2010 · 15 posts · 61 votes
    10y

    I haven't used rentalualtions. Mysmartmove is very simple and streamlined. Once you fill in the apartment information and a few criteria, your part is done. All you have to do for the applicant is put in their email address and select that they pay and you're done. It sends you an email once they do their part online and it's very easy to understand when you click the link.

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  • Crystal H.
    Flipper/Rehabber · IA · Member since 2015 · 157 posts · 35 votes
    10y

    I have rental properties in South Florida and I am a Realtor. I have rented properties without listing them on the MLS and also, while listing them on the MLS. I find the best qualified tenants come when they are using a professional Realtor. That's my opinion. I do all the screening no matter what, even if they have a credit report and background check already done by a Realtor. I have used mysmartmove and it is a good website but I also get additional proof of income, ID's and so on. It just seems like the serious tenants will use a professional. Even for C areas. It doesn't cost them anything to use a professional as a tenant so why wouldn't they....? If they are not being honest, have criminal records or bad credit. At least that is my opinion. Good luck.

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  • Benjamin Pekarek
    Rental Property Investor · Asheville, NC · Member since 2015 · 307 posts · 127 votes
    10y

    Just my $.02 - a GOOD property manager is worth every penny that you pay. However, if you've never been a landlord yourself, how can you know whether or not they're any good? We offer a six month guarantee on all of our placed tenants - if a tenant vacates, or has to be evicted prior to the six month mark of their lease, we eat the eviction costs, and re-lease the unit for free. Unless your PM is offering something like that, odds are you'll get a warm body in the unit and it's a numbers game...how many warm bodies before you hit a dud...?

    Best of luck self managing!

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