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The newest scam seem to be the story that tenants have to move due to the house being in foreclosure. This week we had at least 12 tenants coming up with that story...it seems more homes are in foreclosure than really are if you want to believe why these tenants want to break their lease
Do they really think that story will hold up...maybe with an inexperienced landlord but not with us!
We can find out if that is true or not (house in foreclosure or not) and Florida law requires that within 10 days your address on your DL has to be changed so if your address doesn't show the address you claim to live and that house is not in foreclosure than forget that we believe a word you say!
Tenants who lie shouldn't feel bad if they loose their application fee...lying is immediately cause for denial!
Last edited by bentlebee; 03-30-2014 at 07:23 AM..
When I was searching for a tenant I had a few 2-3 who were moving because the house was being listed, a few 2-3 who were living with relatives because they couldn't find a house to buy and a few that flat out gave me the creeps either in person or by phone.
As the RE market ramps up for spring buying season I see a lot more houses going on market and people being displaced.
The OP's checks when an application is submitted quickly reveal whether or not the applicant is making up a story about foreclosure. The OP is simply making an observation (for the benefit of both fellow landlords and tenants who might be inclined to try the ploy) that it's a bad idea. The tenant in particular has more to lose as they lose their holding deposit if what they've written on their application turns out to be false. Landlords DO and should care why people are moving which is precisely why they do background checks.
Maybe there are some tenants who are moving because of foreclosure, but it also happens to be the favorite excuse I hear from people who are being evicted. People who are moving because they were evicted never say that they were evicted. They always have a version where they were totally innocent victims.
I won't rent to any one unless I can talk to both their current and prior landlord. I have to hear a good reference from both those landlords.
Additional hint for newbie landlords, it is usually not a promising situation when an applicant comes around and only has 2 days in which to move. That application has to be checked extra carefully.
I've only had one of those that was legitimate. They had rented a place and the well failed 2 days before their move-in date, which I was able to verify. So, it is not impossible, but responsible people generally don't wait until 2 days before they will be homeless before finding a place to live. Those applicants are usually being evicted and the courts have given them 2-3 days to vacate before the sheriff arrives.
Maybe there are some tenants who are moving because of foreclosure, but it also happens to be the favorite excuse I hear from people who are being evicted. People who are moving because they were evicted never say that they were evicted. They always have a version where they were totally innocent victims.
I won't rent to any one unless I can talk to both their current and prior landlord. I have to hear a good reference from both those landlords.
Additional hint for newbie landlords, it is usually not a promising situation when an applicant comes around and only has 2 days in which to move. That application has to be checked extra carefully.
I've only had one of those that was legitimate. They had rented a place and the well failed 2 days before their move-in date, which I was able to verify. So, it is not impossible, but responsible people generally don't wait until 2 days before they will be homeless before finding a place to live. Those applicants are usually being evicted and the courts have given them 2-3 days to vacate before the sheriff arrives.
It seems odd that people would make up an excuse that reflects negatively on their credit worthiness, to cover up another.
No, what they're trying to say is that they are renters who are being displaced because their landlords got foreclosed on, and that's why they had to move. Not that they are owners who got foreclosed on.
Exactly it is a fake excuse to either tell the truth that they are breaking their lease else where and going to leave like a thief in the night which is usually happening close to the end of the month like it is right now or they are in an eviction process and try to hide it and later will say the eviction is due to the owner being in foreclosure.
We are changing the way we ask questions by phone to avoid wasting time to show the property to dead beats. Getting an application and and a denial is one thing but showing over and over and wasting time is an additional issue that we try to prevent.
By screening we save ourselves more then 50% of showing the house and it seems the percentage is increasing rapidly which is a huge concern how the economy is going.
Btw this is issue comes up more for better looking homes with a pool.
I think I have scared away at least 8 people on the phone this weekend by asking the right questions...we still don't want to be in the business of running applications and taking peoples money but otherwise it would have been a good weekend for small money...
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