Residents
Owners
When you’re a landlord, you have to take care of your good tenants while being aware of your bad tenants. Did you know tenants are often scamming landlords?
They pull tricks to get you to avoid pulling a background check, lie about their current living situation or lie about the number of tenants moving in. Here are some tricks desperate renters are using most often.
The Screening Process
If you have a tenant leaving things blank on the application, acting offended because you want to do a background check or complains about rental fees, this is a red flag. They are most likely trying to hide something, but will make you think that they are hurt you question their integrity.
Past renters know this is a standard process and won’t be offended by the suggestion of a background check or any other normal part of the renting process.
Immediate Offer
If a tenant comes in with first month’s rent and the deposit offering to pay now if they can move in right away, this can be a red flag. You won’t have the proper time to check if the applicant has had a poor rental history or has been evicted. Don’t let the cash dangling in front of you distract you from following the standard guidelines for renting.
Lying about living situation
If a tenant says they are living with family and have no landlord references, this may be a red flag. Sometimes, this excuse is used to cover up poor rental history or something else a past landlord might tell you.
They also may suggest they are the only person moving in, while they plan to have other adults living there with a poor criminal background.
Landlords need to be careful when it comes to new tenants. Make sure to do your due diligence before renting to anybody new.
