Another would you rent to this person scenario

[Account Closed]

As always I turn to this forum with a scenario. Potential renters with 100k in the bank. Self Employed and appears last rental location was owned by a brother. On the rental application they put the first name of the brother but used a last name that was the applicants middle name. Found this out by doing a check on the owner of the property. I called the landlord (brother) who stated they tenants rented a basement and paid 1500 a month, but the potential tenants wrote on the application they pay 1200.

On the bank statement they provided, which was one month, I could not verify any rent payments being made. So my question is would you rent to this individual, even with that amount in cash?

[Marcia Maynard]

I agree with @Sylvia B. Open and honest communication is key. Falsifying an application, unacceptable.

I also agree with @Val Csontos about not spending much time verifying rental history for someone living with family, paying rent or not. Consider the brother a personal reference, not a landlord reference.

Why put faith in the amount of money in the bank account? Could be gone tomorrow! You should be more concerned with income history (stability and sufficient income to afford to rent from you) and payment history (does their credit report and report from previous legitimate landlords demonstrate they pay their bills and rent on time?) and income/debt ratio (not overextended) and of course their legal history too. Weakness in any of these categories? Get a hefty security deposit to cover your risk.

Self-employed? You gotta see their tax returns for this one! At least two years worth. I would ask for three. Income must be verifiable. What's in the bank account means nothing other than they have sufficient funds to cover move-in costs, including that security deposit.