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Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
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As the others have said, tenants don't ask a LL for personal information and god help anyone I'd catch trying to get mine. You can check tax records - however for any smart LL that won't tell you anything. You will just find a nondescript trust or a holding corporation going to a mail drop.
That said, there are a lot of CL scams. The way to avoid most is if something sounds fishy, it is. Don't mail money to out of state "owners." Be sure to look at a property in person. Most professional LL's will take a holding deposit or application fee while they clear your application. I have like a 28 page lease, we sit down and go over each point. I go through the property with a new tenant, show them where the shut offs are, make it clear what their maintenance responsibilities are, etc.
If you have a "LL" who's just interested in your $$, isn't really interested in their property. Doesn't have keys or doesn't seem comfortable at the property, etc. Those are red flags.
I usually require cash for move in (other than in CA). But I issue a receipt and it can be deposited directly into the holding account at the bank. If someone seems shady, they probably are.
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
7,646 posts, read 9,944,809 times
Reputation: 16466
Quote:
Originally Posted by produce12
What if the landlord is a crook tenants need to do background checks on the LL as well just like the LL wants to do background checks on the tenant. I just want to take precaution bc you dont know if the LL have a shady past and the tenant needs to know as well who they renting from.
A further comment. While I understand your concern. Your best defense is your good judgment. Trust me, if you ask any LL for their information that is going to be an instant disqualification.
Very few LL's have a shady past, well, OK, that missing tenant thing they couldn't prove because there was no body...
Here's the bottom line. The tenant doesn't get to know who they are renting from. It is pretty easy to tell if you are dealing with someone who is legit or not. Often the PM will have an office. Or just restrict yourself to larger properties with on-site management. A well maintained property, and an LL who insists upon an in-depth screening is YOUR protection. A scammer isn't going to screen you. They just want your application and ID. They will have a story. They won't be working on the property.
Renting an apartment isn't like renting a hotel room. I'm not about to turn over a property costing $100-200K to someone I don't have a lot of info on. That is just the way it is.
Exactly my point. Most of the rental properties thats available nationwide are craigslist postings. Thats where most people search for apartments. With that being said I need to take caution and not get scammed so I think its right to do a background and checks on the LL as well.
Really? I have never used craigslist to search for an apartment. There are plenty of apartments adverstised that don't use craiglist.
Under the law that was signed by George Bush tenants are safe for the rental period of at least how long their lease when the property becomes lis pendens.
Yes, the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009. But it doesn't protect you if you sign a lease after the foreclosure notice has been filed. And it doesn't protect you completely if someone buys the home at auction and wants to move into the house. There are exceptions, so it is still good to do your research.
It's been years since I was in the rental market but when I was a renter I always preferred the small mother-in-law type of apartments over garages or attached to homes or small single family cottages rather than apartments in large complexes for a number of reasons, mostly because I had a bad experience sharing a bedroom wall with noisy fighting neighbors. These "one-off" types of rentals would likely show up on Craigslist today.
I understand the dilemma from the viewpoint that a Craiglist posting needs to be approached with some level of "caveat emptor", however I would not as a landlord ever give out such personal info such as an SSN for a background check from a prospective tenant. I barely want to give that info to institutions with a legitimate need. What I would possibly be willing to do is show/provide a sanitized (missing only sensitive information) copy of a utility bill or property tax statement with the property's address and my name on that bill. If a landlord of a small rental operation is unable or unwilling come up with this type of documentation in a reasonable time, then move on to the next place.
The overall point made by other posters to deal with professional agents or reputable apartment brokers should be noted as well as the advice of one poster to ask other tenants in a complex about their level of satisfaction with their landlord or property manager to avoid preventable hassles.
It seems like you (the OP) are going about this in a combative manner based upon what could happen at the risk of spooking a decent landlord with a desirable property. If I were screening prospective tenants as a landlord, I would screen out someone that seemed excessively cautious or distrustful, those with a chip on their shoulder or a worry wart as a potential PITA renter, just like I would screen out people driving up in a car that they obviously don't take care of, applicants with a slovenly, dirty personal appearance or with important dings on a background or rental history check.
Rather than rebutting the good advice given here, listen and apply. Your call.
Yes, the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009. But it doesn't protect you if you sign a lease after the foreclosure notice has been filed. And it doesn't protect you completely if someone buys the home at auction and wants to move into the house. There are exceptions, so it is still good to do your research.
I never stated not to do a search. If you have a lease the tenant is protected during their lease.
Nobody has experienced signing a lease before the property went into lis pendens and within a year the property was auctioned...not happening!
The process to foreclose and/or auction and/or short sale is way longer from the time the owner is defaulting.
George Bush signed a very good bill protecting people. If people don't check by now after all the horror stories the first tenants had to deal with 2 years ago....then they are to blame themself.
I never stated not to do a search. If you have a lease the tenant is protected during their lease.
Nobody has experienced signing a lease before the property went into lis pendens and within a year the property was auctioned...not happening!
The process to foreclose and/or auction and/or short sale is way longer from the time the owner is defaulting.
Your area and mine are obviously very different. We had 4 properties we manage for other people get foreclosed on in January and February this year. Of those, 3 tenants were still in their original 1 year lease. Of those, 2 were still in the first 6 months (the notice of default was filed the month after they signed the lease).
#1 The first missed payment on one was July, 2010, Notice filed in October, foreclosure was in February. So their one year lease, signed in September, is still good for 6 more months. Notice filed to auction date = 4 months
#2 I don't know when the first missed payment was, but lease signed in July, notice of default filed in August, and foreclosure auction was the first week of January. That lease was month to month, so they were not protected that way, but still the bank had to give them 90 days notice. Notice filed to auction date = 5 months
Foreclosures in my area are going very quickly. Some as fast as 4 months. 6 months is about the minimum from first missed payment to foreclosure auction, and I have seen some go that fast.
So I say again, if you sign a lease after the notice of default is filed, your lease does not protect you, and does not have to be honored by the bank. Your lease only has to be honored if the original or renewal date was before the notice of default was posted.
Also, if the property is purchased at auction by someone who wants to live in the house, they do NOT have to honor your lease either, they can give you 90 days notice to vacate.
Yes, it is a very good bill, and yes, it does protect tenants, but only if the situation meets the criteria.
*Edited to say that if, in your area, it is taking more than a year for properties to get from lis pendens to auction, then any lease signings or lease renewals signed during that time are NOT covered by this act. So unless you know of another law passed that I'm not aware of, tenants in your area are not protected, and the bank can evict them at their leisure.
*Edited again to say maybe you are talking about a different bill, since this one was signed by Obama, not Bush
Last edited by Lacerta; 03-21-2011 at 01:57 PM..
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