How to Verify Past Landlord on application is not FAKE

Property Manager · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2015 · 121 posts · 33 votes

When screening tenant, it's important to check landlord references. What's the best way to verify that the landlord listed on the application is really their past landlord and is not a fake landlord (applicant's friend, mother, or fake landlord reference service?)

I know a lot of people call the assessor's office or check the owner's information. This can become very time-consuming.

Are you using any software or tool that allows you to check the owner of the property?

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JD MartinBusiness Member

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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes

We approve based on meeting the tenants and their credit/background/criminal/eviction reports, as well as their current employment and income levels. We found that contacting past landlords was more or less a waste of time anyway - if a tenant is that marginal that I have to contact the past landlord, I need to find a different tenant. Half the landlords will lie, and the other half won't bother calling you back or even remember who you are talking about, and the professionally managed places won't give you any information at all other than maybe verifying they lived there.

Our experience: tenants with good credit histories, more than enough income, no evictions or criminal records, and are decent human beings when you meet them, 99% of them are going to end up being excellent tenants. It is the rare tenant that has no red flags that turns into a horror story.

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Rick S.
Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2014 · 397 posts · 161 votes
9y
@Vitaliy Merkulov on Zillow in the Data section for some properties there is a link to the County website which makes it pretty easy to confirm ownership without having to call.
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Kim Meredith HamptonBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · St Petersburg · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
@Vitaliy Merkulov Important to take the time and conduct the due diligence on the front end to avoid problems on the backside. You can check out the property appraisers office to see if in fact that this is the real owner. You can also ask for cancelled checks made out to the landlord.
If you dont have time, hire a third party to process your applications. I know a member on here, RentPrep can do all of that for you.
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Micki Larkin
Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 8 votes
9y
I've had many rentals and I request copies of ALL their canceled checks for their rent and verify the date the check was deposited from the back of the check. Secondly, I request the permission of the potential tenant to speak to their immediate manager or college advisor. That way I can confirm that their work or school records reflect the same address as their previous landlord. Also, when you do their credit check, the potential tenant's address should pop up. Hope that help!
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Vitaliy Merkulov
OP
Property Manager · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2015 · 121 posts · 33 votes
9y
Originally posted by @Kim Meredith Hampton:
@Vitaliy Merkulov Important to take the time and conduct the due diligence on the front end to avoid problems on the backside. You can check out the property appraisers office to see if in fact that this is the real owner. You can also ask for cancelled checks made out to the landlord.
If you dont have time, hire a third party to process your applications. I know a member on here, RentPrep can do all of that for you.
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Vitaliy Merkulov
OP
Property Manager · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2015 · 121 posts · 33 votes
9y
@Kim Meredith Hampton What if the tenant didn't pay with a check but direct deposit or in cash. If I want to do this myself, there is no way to check the owner of the property without hiring someone to do it or calling the county?
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Kim Meredith HamptonBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · St Petersburg · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
@Vitaliy Merkulov If they paid, they can get you some sort of report, should be a non issue
You can check yourself to see if that is fact the landlord on the county property appraiser where your rental property is located. You dont need to go anywhere other than check online
'
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Mark Jones
Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2017 · 104 posts · 47 votes
9y
Ask for a copy of their lease.
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JD MartinBusiness Member
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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
We approve based on meeting the tenants and their credit/background/criminal/eviction reports, as well as their current employment and income levels. We found that contacting past landlords was more or less a waste of time anyway - if a tenant is that marginal that I have to contact the past landlord, I need to find a different tenant. Half the landlords will lie, and the other half won't bother calling you back or even remember who you are talking about, and the professionally managed places won't give you any information at all other than maybe verifying they lived there.
Our experience: tenants with good credit histories, more than enough income, no evictions or criminal records, and are decent human beings when you meet them, 99% of them are going to end up being excellent tenants. It is the rare tenant that has no red flags that turns into a horror story.
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Vitaliy Merkulov
OP
Property Manager · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2015 · 121 posts · 33 votes
9y
@JD Martin we manage some properties in bad neighborhoods, so good tenants are not looking in those locations. So we have to deal with people with bad credit scores. Landlord References are very important for us in this case. I wish there was a better way to detect fake landlords.
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JD MartinBusiness Member
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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Vitaliy Merkulov:

@JD Martin we manage some properties in bad neighborhoods, so good tenants are not looking in those locations. So we have to deal with people with bad credit scores. Landlord References are very important for us in this case. I wish there was a better way to detect fake landlords.
In those cases, it's best to get paid up front (first/last/deposit) and have a M2M lease. And as the property manager, I'd be getting a greater cut for managing in a war zone.
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Andreas W.
Durham, NC · Member since 2013 · 502 posts · 215 votes
9y
Call up the previous landlords and ask them to confirm the information you got from the applicant. Of course, you need to add some trick information. Then wait if the responses are still smooth.
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Dana Holland
Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2017 · 43 posts · 12 votes
9y
@JD Martin I have current tenants that I had the background check run, verified income, everything checked out. Met them before renting to them. Super nice family of 5 and they seemed like the perfect tenants. I did not call the past landlord as I didn't feel it was necessary just like you say in your post. They put their previous address on the application but did not list the Landlord's name. Based on everything else we didn't think much of it. Rented to them and they became a nightmare. They pay on time every month which is good of course, but they borderline harass any contractor that comes to the house (landscaper, pool service, etc). We have had many, many issues with them throughout their tenancy. I got curious about their previous renting experience, so I was able to track down the previous landlord through Zillow. Luckily I got a hold of him and he told me that they broke their lease with him (they put on my rental app that they had never broken a lease). They told the landlord that they had lost their job and had no more money to give him and used their security deposit for the last month and bailed. I guess that's why they didn't want to list him on the rental application. Lesson learned! I will ALWAYS be checking previous landlords from now on.
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Matthew Olszak
Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
@Vitaliy Merkulov I'm with @JD Martin on this. Back when I used to check landlord references regularly, I never received any feedback that changed anything. If it was a bad tenant, I either wouldn't get a call back or they'd tell me the applicant was a great tenant because they wanted to get rid of them. If it was a good tenant, I either wouldn't get a call back or they'd tell me the applicant was a great tenant. Since the vast majority of the time I don't personally know the previous landlord, I have no idea if they are any more credible than the applicant.
That being said - I do request the info from tenants. Its a good spot to catch them in a lie. Looking up the current owner takes me less than 5 minutes on the recorder's office online search, and its the last thing I do so I'm not checking for everyone. I also run the contact info provided through Spokeo to check for a match (although its not always right). I pay a lot of attention to the applicant as well when I mention needing the prior landlord's info to see if there are any signs of concern, that's usually a good giveaway there is a problem.
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JD MartinBusiness Member
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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Dana Holland:

@JD Martin I have current tenants that I had the background check run, verified income, everything checked out. Met them before renting to them. Super nice family of 5 and they seemed like the perfect tenants. I did not call the past landlord as I didn't feel it was necessary just like you say in your post. They put their previous address on the application but did not list the Landlord's name. Based on everything else we didn't think much of it. Rented to them and they became a nightmare. They pay on time every month which is good of course, but they borderline harass any contractor that comes to the house (landscaper, pool service, etc). We have had many, many issues with them throughout their tenancy. I got curious about their previous renting experience, so I was able to track down the previous landlord through Zillow. Luckily I got a hold of him and he told me that they broke their lease with him (they put on my rental app that they had never broken a lease). They told the landlord that they had lost their job and had no more money to give him and used their security deposit for the last month and bailed. I guess that's why they didn't want to list him on the rental application. Lesson learned! I will ALWAYS be checking previous landlords from now on.
Do as you like but one experience does not a case make. I'd be super surprised if they had a stellar credit report (did you look at the report and not just the score?). And if any of the issues you have with them are against your lease, why are they still there? Just paying the rent on time doesn't make for a good tenancy.
If you have the time and inclination to work that hard, you should feel free to pursue that course. You do know, of course, that someone has to be the first bad experience. The previous guy may have had glowing reports, and guess what? They broke his lease.
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Dana Holland
Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2017 · 43 posts · 12 votes
9y
@JD Martin do as you like as well. One day you'll get that rotten egg and I'm telling you it will suck. Yes, their credit report was good. I don't just look at the score. FICO means nothing to me. You can pay your bills every month and have a great credit score but be financially irresponsible.
By the way, they are leaving next month. We convinced them to leave 10 months earlier than they were supposed to.
I just know in the future I will investigate everything I can about a potential tenant and that definitely includes former landlords.
1 Reply
Brian H.
Carolina · Member since 2017 · 519 posts · 222 votes
9y
Originally posted by @Vitaliy Merkulov:

@Kim Meredith Hampton What if the tenant didn't pay with a check but direct deposit or in cash. If I want to do this myself, there is no way to check the owner of the property without hiring someone to do it or calling the county?
You can check on the county website instead of calling.
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Ceril S.Pro Member
Rental Property Investor · Ithaca, NY · Member since 2014 · 180 posts · 80 votes
9y
I check the county website and even the town tax database is often easily accessible (go to town website and click on pay taxes and put in tenant's address) I google the person and facebook check them, especially if something doesn't feel right. We call employers and google for employers public published phone numbers and call that one instead of the one that the tenant provides and see if we can still get connected to their "supervisor". There are many ways to double check if what they are telling you is true. We also request bank statements, if they say that they get paid in cash, sometimes we will accept the last 3 months of bank statements that show a recurring deposit of the same amounts. We absolutely call the last landlord - simply look up in white pages their name and address off of the county or town tax history.
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Thomas S.
Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
9y
When you screen applicants make sure you ask their previous rent, how long they were there etc. When you call the previous landlord you first say you are calling about a apartment for rent. This will catch up a "friend" posing as a landlord as they will most likely simply say you have a wrong number. You can further test by asking if their rent had been XXX whether they had lived there X years etc. You provide the wrong information to test if the "landlord" corrects your information. Once you confirm it is the landlord you can open up and pull the information you need out of them. Did they pay on time, did they keep the place tidy, were they needy pita tenants etc. Suggest you may have some negative feelings about the applicants. This usually encourages the previous landlord to open up.
The key to getting info out of a previous landlord is to build a friendly rapport being landlords in common.
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Benn Albrecht
Pleasant Valley, NY · Member since 2016 · 43 posts · 4 votes
9y
@
Why would a previous landlord tell you anything wrong with a tenant if they want them out ?
If I had a problem tenant and wanted them out I would say good things about them :)
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Jeff Gates
Investor · Cathedral City, CA · Member since 2014 · 481 posts · 170 votes
9y
One way is to ask for a image of the front and back of a past rent check. Most folks get these from the bank.
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