All Forum Posts by: Gena Pineda

@Gena Pineda I have been asked by one tenant and was caught off guard at first, but it does make complete sense. They are about to hand over thousands of dollars in rent and security deposit, don’t they have the right to know they are giving it to the right person? After all, we have asked them for their ID, credit, job, and criminal histories.

Just showing tax records as some have suggested proves nothing. Anyone could pull tax records and pretend to be the person named (create a fake email, Facebook profile, etc) - an ID is what allows the person on the other end of the transaction to have confidence that you are in fact the person you claim to be.

My particular house was in an LLC which complicated matters a little more. And the town had not updated the tax records yet when I was renting it out. I decided to show the relevant piece of the sales contract and the operating agreement and my license. I was also able to do this in person which made it a little more comfortable for me as I wasn't providing them copies of anything.

In today’s scam heavy society I think a potential tenant has the right to verify who the landlord claims to be at lease signing. I’m not saying you need to be ready and willing to put your license out there to every applicant, but be prepared to show it when you sign the lease. You have to show it to have documents notarized don’t you?

Some of the posts in this thread I believe are exactly the landlord attitude that gives all landlords a bad rap - the “they don’t deserve to ask anything of me, I’m providing them shelter and if they don’t like it too bad” kind of attitude. I get it, I’ve dealt with a lot of garbage and annoying applicants and, again, I’m not suggesting you just go and put your ID in the listing. But when you are ready to enter into a contract with someone valued in the high four to five figures I think the other party has every right in the world to know that you are who you say you are.