New Applicant Scam?

New Applicant Scam?

OR · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 845 votes

It's true that you've never seen it all. This is a new one to me.

I have a house on the edge if town for sale and I had a gal come out and enthuse that it was just right because she had chemical sensitivity and yadda yadda yadda. OK.

But..... she has this horrible chemical sensitivity and can't tolerate wood smoke. So she wants to know if she can rent for a couple of months to make sure she is OK on the property with her allergies before she buys.

What the heck, it's a slow market and if she'll sign a 6 moonth lease, I'll have rent over the winter when is a hard period to sell. So OK.

Then her husband comes out and we are chatting and he is enthusing about these little portable houses that he made for his wife and her friends. She and they will live in these little houses parked in the yard. So now we have 2 families who are going to park what amounts to trailers in the yard. The place will look like a gypsy camp.

So I politely told him $20 per adult to apply. They must met my written criteria. And since the house is for sale, not for rent, they will have to prove to me before they move in that they have the funds to buy if they like the place after the 6 months are up.

Funny. I haven't heard from them since.

Maybe they decided they don't like my place. Or maybe it was a new tenant scam, to pretend they want to buy, in order to get into a place. (Which means no landlord will take them, or they wouldn't bother with such an elaborate lie.)

I don't really know which because they didn't apply so I didn't check employment or credit.

Any way, heads up, guys.

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  • Residential Real Estate Broker · Payson, AZ · Member since 2009 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    16y

    Thats good stuff!!!!

    I read MikeOH's book and he has some crazy stories in there, This one absolutely runs with the best of them

  • Rental Property Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2009 · 624 posts · 559 votes
    16y

    Thanx for the heads up.

    I am sure we will be seeing many more scams in this economy.

    I have been lucky regarding scams... but have had to deal with more then my share of squatters.

    All professional tenants looking to free-load.

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