All Forum Posts by: Ariel O.
Ariel O. has started 4 posts and replied 168 times.
Post: Tenant screening

- Vendor
- NY, NY
- Posts 175
- Votes 52
MySmartMove or the other ones make a LOT of sense if you have under 5-10 properties.
Once it turns into a full time business (Property Manager, MultiFamily, Broker), you're better off going through the accreditation process and getting direct access to credit reports.
It's a lot more convenient and makes a lot more sense to do real time screening once you have a signed paper or electronic application. Otherwise you end up chasing after tenants, trying to figure out why emails didn't get accepted and lose people who could have been tenants.
Also - the MySmartMove criminal/evictions data is not all that great IMO, but that's a separate discussion for another time.
Post: Realistic Tenant Credit Score

- Vendor
- NY, NY
- Posts 175
- Votes 52
Reference checking is annoying in the context of: how do you know the name and number the tenant gives you is legit. We've got a patent pending method to deal with it but even then it's not fool proof :(
Post: Renter deported... huh!?

- Vendor
- NY, NY
- Posts 175
- Votes 52
@Account Closed
You'd need to ask your local landlord association or attorney.
Post: Renter deported... huh!?

- Vendor
- NY, NY
- Posts 175
- Votes 52
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
Originally posted by @James DeRoest:
I want to say that immigration status is a protected class in Fair Housing. (Not 100% sure though).
However, how do you run a background check with no SSN?
Couldn't the argument be made that if applicant has no proof of authorization to reside in USA, then what are they applying for a residence?
Or on the case of commercial rental, if applicant has no proof of authorization to work in USA, then what are they applying for a working space for?
Not in California, no:[http://law.onecle.com/california/civil/1940.3.html]
Post: Best website for advertising rental properties?

- Vendor
- NY, NY
- Posts 175
- Votes 52
Any luck with apartments.com/rent.com and the other 2nd tier sites?
That's a great way. I'm actually putting together a guide about using advertising on FB to get rentals. For $5-10/day you can get in front of exactly the right audience :-)
Post: Renter deported... huh!?

- Vendor
- NY, NY
- Posts 175
- Votes 52
Originally posted by @James DeRoest:
I want to say that immigration status is a protected class in Fair Housing. (Not 100% sure though).
However, how do you run a background check with no SSN?
Federally I don't think it is. You can't discriminate based on national origin, but the law doesn't say anything about citizenship. [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/3604].
The criminal section of a background check can be done without the SSN. Many jurisdictions have switched to redacting SSNs from criminal [and civil] records before they are released. It's hard to search just by SSN these days.
Post: Renter deported... huh!?

- Vendor
- NY, NY
- Posts 175
- Votes 52
You can't just give a "fraudulent SSN", or you shouldn't be able to.
You run a reverse SSN check which spits back aliases, names, etc. Any PM should be doing this - although I do know PM who didn't, missed an AKA and the eviction under that AKA, and had thousands of $$$ in eviction costs.. All for a few bucks.
Post: Cash for keys

- Vendor
- NY, NY
- Posts 175
- Votes 52
[This is general, not state specific].
If you are on a month to month lease, just end the lease. That's the beauty of them. Remember, you always want to say the minimum possible to avoid any litigation for any reason [Fair Housing etc]. Just inform the tenant, in a legally acceptable way, that you are not extending the lease after next month. Give proper notice etc but no mention of your family, their noise, anything.
What are eviction times and costs like in your area? Will you have trouble getting another renter?
Post: Realistic Tenant Credit Score

- Vendor
- NY, NY
- Posts 175
- Votes 52
Any reason you don't check evictions?
Post: Renter deported... huh!?

- Vendor
- NY, NY
- Posts 175
- Votes 52
@Paul A. said, it's lame.
If there was no SSN, then the PM should have asked why. They should have asked to photocopy the passport + visa for their records. It's possible these people were in violation of a visa. It's also possible they just got deported. Hard to say. But I would inquire with the PM and find out what process they used.