How to make sure the "previous landlord" is not a friend?

Question

any tricks anyone care to share?

On a tenant application where you asked for last or the one before that landlord, how do you know you are not talking to a friend?

Now, obviously, if the address supplied by the applicant, through an online search from the address using the county tax assessor's site, yield the same owner name you will be calling, more than likely you are talking to the right person.

but sometimes you are given a different name, because...

"He owns the property but his cousin, Bluto Blutarsky, handles everything so here is his number".

or "he uses a property management company, a guy name Bluto Blutarsky, self employed and here is his number".

or may be the owner's name is right, but the phone number is one of his friends and as soon as you called and asked for "Mr. Bluto Blutarsky" his friend says "oh yeah, that's me, I am supposed to be the landlord..."

So how do you make sure that person on the other side of the phone is legit?

Do you ask trick questions? Like "so he paid you $2300 a month for a 1/1? Why you let her go?" or what?

Dawn Anastasi · Answer

If you call not just the prior landlord, but the one prior to that, that landlord will have no vested interest in helping a bad tenant.

Bill S. · Answer

In addition to what @Dawn Anastasi said about calling the owners. Check the owner's phone number against the phone number given using online lookups. If they use a legitimate PM then they usually have an online presence. Check that. I get three past addresses on my applications so I can find at least one past landlord. Cross check the addresses given with the credit report. On-line search the PM if it's supposedly a relative of the owner. Check and search for numbers and property ownership. It takes me about 2 hours to check someone out. I tell people, I know them better than their BF or GF does after I get done.

Dawn Anastasi · Answer

I've seen people trying to scam like this and I feel really sorry for them. Even if someone uses a property manager, I call the actual owner and ask them if they can speak to the tenant or give me the name of their property manager. I've never had anyone get mad at me calling for a reference. - I've called owners and had them tell me they have no such person living there. - I have had someone list down a "landlord" who wasn't on the property records, and when I checked their Facebook page the "landlord" was listed as their friend. Sometimes I think of posting a sign at showings that says "If you think you're going to lie on your application and get away with it, just try me." That would make people think twice.

Bill Gulley · Answer

Absolutely Aly! Who says there is no honor among thieves? LOL :)

Bill Gulley · Answer

Good point Angie, don't tell the party called how they were specified as a reference. An owner or a PM will or should understand RE lingo. A couple minutes of small talk and you should be able to know if they are in the business or a fake. "Say, I've been thinking of joining the XYZ Landlord Association are you a member or have you ever been to their meetings?" I also listen for their reluctance in answering questions, a pause can be in thinking of a correct answer, a quickly given reply can sometimes indicate that 1. they are a small operator who is personally involved and/or 2. they don't want to talk and want to get off, or 3. a friendly relationship where they are trying to help the applicant. We would call, but we also said we would be sending a written verification and asked them to return it! If you don't get it back, you can call again. Failure to get a written verification can be grounds to terminate a contract. In lending, you have time for verifications, in our rentals, we'd act quickly in due diligence. Keeping the door open to terminate is a good practice in gaining cooperation, even if you don't intend to terminate (and they'd be in there too, so you may have an eviction). But, any past landlord will understand getting a verification, if they feel the tenant was okay, they'd fill it out and send it back. If they hated the applicant, thought they were terrible tenants, they might say so in code or they won't say anything at all. That's an indication to me, it may be they didn't reply for some other reason, but that's my first assumption. After awhile, you'll learn to "read people" quickly, their voice, excited responses, hesitations, the old "I don't know" or vague answers can all say something. Another way to avoid getting bad application information is to briefly explain your application process and how you verify information before you ask the questions. This can scare them away from trying to snow you and you'll get better info. :)

Angie W. · Answer

Exactly! This was my last applicants. Male 32, female 25, 1 kid 8 years old. Only listed current rental residence of 11-12 months on application. When I told them they needed to provide where they lived before that neither one could/would tell me where they had lived and the female kept saying "but this is the only place we have ever had together!" They also wanted to move ASAP and their reason for leaving their current place was that they "wanted a more updated place".

Aly W. · Answer

When a thirtysomething tenant with children tells you they've never lived with anyone other than family members, you can usually just stop right there.

Johann Jells · Answer

I've never put much weight on the landlord reference anyway, since if a tenant is bad why would a landlord say anything that would delay seeing them out the door? What am I not getting?

Rob K. · Answer

I use the credit check service offered by mrlandlord.com. For $14.95, I instantly get a credit report with score AND a national eviction report. The eviction report is worth it's weight in gold. Most deadbeats have been evicted at one time or another. It's an easy way to get rid of them before making a bunch of phone calls and becoming a detective. I agree with above comments about finding out who the real owner is and calling and trying to stump them. I had an applicant list her current landlord who answered all my questions perfectly. It seemed too smooth. When I drove by the current apartment complex she was living in, I called the number on the sign. The person who answered the phone gave a completely different story about the applicant.

Dawn Anastasi · Answer

Ha! Just don't investigate your friends and family or you will freak them out. (Or do it but don't tell them you do ...)