Fake reference story

[Tony H.]

Just sharing a story here.

I approved a tenant (boyfriend girlfriend with 3 kids) to rent our home.

I did all of the due diligence including checking landlord references. 
the girlfriend put a certain email address in the apllication as landlord reference contact. She also put a phone number.

I did a quick search and confirmed the phone number is correct. Their landlord also replied back to the email quickly. 

I offered them a lease, few hours later after some technology hiccups, she forwarded an email to me with that same email address she used for her landlord reference.

I immediately told them this is fraud and cancelled their lease. I didnt sign anything yet.

Now they are threatening lawsuit. They said I am racist 😀 

If I am racist, I wouldnt have offered a lease from the start. 

Whats funny is, I reached out to their landlord by text message. He confirmed the email that the girl provided is not his email. She knows this. The landlord told her the same thing. Yet she still says I am crazy and racist.

Wow! Im glad they didnt move in. It would have been much worse nightmare.

[Theresa Harris]

The fact that she came back saying you were racist rather than something like 'oh no I put down my email address by mistake'-which I can see happening, says something.  I'm curious if it was an email address with the landlord's name (which clearly suggests you were being misled) or something like fluffybunny?

[Tony H.]

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

The fact that she came back saying you were racist rather than something like 'oh no I put down my email address by mistake'-which I can see happening, says something.  I'm curious if it was an email address with the landlord's name (which clearly suggests you were being misled) or something like fluffybunny?

Exactly. The boyfriend somehow cant understand my explanation. I showed him the proof and he insist that she was not and that i was racist to her.
I’m shocked to see that from someone who works in a professional setup. His boss also spoke highly of him of having good character.
I told him, if it was just him, he would have moved in already. The girl is the problem. 
He is the one paying the rent though. But I dont really care, both need to pass my criterias.

The email address is has no landlord’s name. Just random.

[Noah Laker]

I've managed over 1000 residential units in my career (so far) and I've seen this plenty of times. There are groups that coach unqualified / problem renters in this type of fraud. Fake IDs, fake social security cards, etc etc etc. BE CAREFUL OUT THERE AND TRUST YOUR GUT! 

And, this should go without saying, but always defer to Fair Housing guidance, ensure you're treating everyone equally, and keep diligent records of all applications for 5 years. That way, their threats hold no merit.