All Forum Posts by: Kathleen J.

at this point I'm almost wondering if he's actually looking for a trip to jail for some free room and board.  I laugh, because otherwise I'd cry, and there's no crying in real estate :)

I used Real Serious (formerly called Amer USA).  I have been working with an attorney since December, and he represented me in court today for our first hearing.  I could probably give a short seminar on all this guy's lies and how I'm piecing them together.  

Quick lessons:

Paystubs are easy to fake, especially for those who claim to be self-employed.  Insist on 2 years of tax returns if renting to a self-employed person.

Company websites are easy to fake, but with a bit of effort easy to call out.  This guy's website was a mash of plagiarized material from legitimate companies in the same industry he claims to be in.

Colleague/HR references are easy to fake if your applicant works with a network of similarly shady people--this guy's ex-wife is super dirty too, and he listed her under her maiden name (I tracked it down through her dad's obituary) as the VP of his company.

Search ALL surrounding counties for eviction records or judgments.  Tonight I found 2 judgments against this guy in Cook County.  One was for more than $150k!!  I had already found 4 judgments against him in another county, about 40 miles away from the other one.

Do not let tenants delay establishing utilities in their own names.  Doing so helps them to hide their residential rental history if they cannot be easily tracked through utility bills.  He currently owes more than $1000 in water bills, including a $500 fee for turning his own water back on after the city shut him off due to non-payment and a bad check.  The city turned his bad check over to the police.  

Yes, we are trying to get him out now.  Hopefully the judge can see past the guy's charisma quite easily.

We have billed our tenants through Quick Books for several years.  In August I unwittingly took on a "Professional Tenant" who is making my life a nightmare.

His September rent was 21 days late.  He insisted his payment issues were due to traveling out of town for his Grandmother's funeral, then some kind of bank glitch.  I became very suspicious of him at that time and started digging deeper into all of his claims during the application process, so I knew that it was likely he was lying.

October & November rents were paid electronically through Quick Books without event.  December nothing came through.  In fact, Quick Books does not even show that he has even VIEWED the December invoice.  When I contacted him after the expiration of my grace period (the 5th) to let him know that if he didn't pay I'd begin the eviction process, he acted offended, claiming that he paid, and forwarded me what appeared to be a PAID email receipt from Quick Books.  The invoice # matched the December invoice, and it showed a payment date in November.  But, the hyperlink did NOT link to the December invoice, but rather to the old November invoice.  My reasonable deduction is that he changed his November payment confirmation to show the December invoice # and an on-time payment.  I was even able to reproduce this by paying creating a small invoice and paying it, and then typing over the details in the message in my email.  

So, we have court next week at which time I need to be able to prove that he did not pay us.  He is the only tenant since 2012 to have ANY problems paying electronically, and I have had 14 tenants across 7 properties.  

How do i prove that he did not pay us?  He seems to be forging his bank statements too to make it seem like he paid.  He also seems to be creating emails that I NEVER received, in which he offered to re-carpet an entire 1700 sf townhouse, as well as a list of repairs that he claims to have undertaken.  I am a FANTASTIC landlord--we fix everything well beyond what is required or expected.

Can my other tenants write letters attesting to my honesty and responsiveness?  Will this have any impact on the court?  This tenant has FIVE residential evictions that were not discovered by my (then) screening service.

I have 2 sets of applicants for a property.  My stated policy is that applicants have a minimum monthly income of 3x the rent.  

Applicants A: Income is a combination of SSI, Foster Care, Adoption stipend, Musician, and Beautician.  Combined it is barely 3x, and I am not sure the beautician income can be verified, but makes up a significant enough portion for it to matter.  The musician's income is predictable--his company states he's been working for them for 17 years. If either foster child leaves the home there is a significant loss in income. 

Applicants B: Newer college graduates.  One has monthly gross pay equal to the amount of Applicants A' verified income.  The other member had been working PT but has the potential for FT, and her degree should garner her a healthy income.

Applicant A states that their current landlord is negligent and as a result she has short paid rent a few times to cover repairs she paid out of pocket.  She had an eviction more than 10 years ago.

Since neither has the 3x verifiable AT THIS TIME, but could, how do I choose?   Any other things I should consider?