All Forum Posts by: Scott Johnson

I understand the tenants' perspective - they don't want to be the victim of someone who claims to be the owner but then takes their deposit and disappears, especially if they intend to give the deposit in cash (which I think you should discourage - encourage them to go down the street to a convenience store and spend $1.50 for a money order instead - and give them a receipt for any deposit they give you, in any form, to reassure them everything is legit).

My first thought was that I'd be willing to show the tenants a driver license but not let them have a copy, just to let them verify my identity. However with the new Real ID requirements many states have been implementing, most driver licenses now have verified home addresses, so I'm not sure I'm even comfortable showing that to a tenant.

It might not help in time for this tenant, but you can get a U.S. passport card (not the full passport, the card is an add-on you pay a little extra for) which is a U.S. government-issued photo ID that does not have your home address on it, and show that to a tenant making this request but not give them a copy.

Another option is that, assuming you have the tax bills sent to a PO box, you could show the tenant one of the utility bills for the property which has the same address on it as the tax assessor has for the owner of the property. The fact that you have one of the utility bills for the property that was mailed to the same address on the tax assessor records, should be good enough to verify your connection to the property. Otherwise how would you have gotten a copy of that statement? You'd probably want to print them a copy of the tax assessor record to give them at the same time too.

As far as the asymmetry here, where you're asking tenants for SSN, credit check, pay stubs, etc., and only offering to show them an ID or utility bill, I don't feel very bad because the relationship isn't symmetric either. You're allowing them to live in your property, potentially putting a substantial real estate asset at risk, and need to verify they aren't likely to damage it physically or financially.

I'm not sure they have an equivalent risk from you. You could ask them to leave but there are a lot of laws regulating that (eviction or giving advance notice to end the lease). In theory you could go into their unit and take/damage their stuff, but legally you can't go into their unit whenever you like (you've sold the right of entry/possession in exchange for rent) and in most states you have to provide advance notice except for a bona fide emergency. And while to them, their stuff may be most of what they own, in terms of monetary value you're at much more risk with your real estate than they are for their miscellaneous stuff. So on that basis I'm personally OK with the asymmetry.

Due to the prevalence of scams I don't fault them for asking and would try to accommodate the request in a way which is reasonable but still protects your privacy. And you want to be sure (as @Curtis Mears said) that the way they ask you is not confrontational and a sign of bad things to come, but respectful and explains their reason for asking as being smart and careful rather than oppositional.

I am with @Austin F. on this one. Given all the scams that tenants have been victims of, it is hardly unreasonable for them to want to verify your identification. A small mom and pop landlord in particular is risky to tenants. They are not meeting you at your place of business. You probably don't have a website or registered business entity. You could literally be anyone out to scam someone.

Landlords ask tenants for their SSN and photo ID all the time. I take a photo of every applicants drivers license. Some landlords even require full application before even showing a property. With all that we ask for from our tenants, how is it unreasonable for them to verify us?

That all being said, there are solutions that don't involve giving them a personal information (like your home address). You could just show them your license, so they can verify your photo matches your name. You can offer them your license with the address blacked out (or just take a photo covering it). As @Linda S. suggested, you can direct them to tax records where owners names are listed. This may even be better, because it shows the owner of the property. 

One thing we have done to establish credibility is setup a Facebook business page and website. Our business phone number is public information and we watermark our phone number on listing photos. We also have a US post office box mailing address that is published. All of these things pop up if tenants try to research our identity. My Facebook page has years of property listings, so if I am a scammer, I am playing a really long game scam. 

One of the responsibilities as a business owner is building a brand and building credibility. If you have that, nobody will ask for your drivers license.

How much do you hold in reserves for each rental? Do you hold more or less for property type? (I.e. Condo vs Duplex)

I've heard 6 months but am curious what others are using.

Hey guys just wanted to get some advice about people that work for me.

We have been remodeling a duplex I own and they have been asking if they can rent them out once I’m done. My first reaction is don’t mix business! But wanted to ask and see what others thoughts are