Tenant Screening - Previous Landlord Disappeared

[Cassandra Sifford]

Good day BP!!! I am screening my 1st tenant and she seems good on paper ... so far. She's given me her pay stubs, ID, completed application and the app fee. I've verified her employment with HR. She's been with their company since 2008 and makes more than my requirement. I'm still waiting on her to respond to my background check service for further due diligence. My issue is that I've tried to contact the previous landlord, but the phone keeps ringing .. no voicemail ever picks up. When she submitted the application, she advised that the property was seized from the landlord and she was given a short notice to move ... 2 days. Hasn't heard from the landlord since. She'd paid a full months rent and wants the remainder as she had to vacate early in the month of eviction. The tenants prior property is located in Delaware County, PA. I've checked the parcel site and found that the property was owned by an LLC. I found the phone number to the LLC/PM company, but it's no longer in service. I've asked her for the previous landlords last name so I can possibly locate him that way. Has anyone else had to do some hunting around for a previous landlord? If so, how did you go about locating them? If you did't have any success, what process did you use to figure out some basic info on timely payments and whether or not they were a good tenant? The only thing I can think of is to request (3) months of previous bank statements and/or voided checks to see that the payment was indeed deducted when the rent was due so I can at least see she made timely payments. Any assistance is GREATLY appreciated!!!

Thanks a bunch ... Cassandra :)

[Kyle Bruns]

I totally agree with @Matthew Olszak. Another major red flag is when a prospective tenant is in a huge rush to move. When you're getting questions about how soon a person can move in, sensors should immediately go off. With that being said she paid for you to do the background check, if that comes back clean, and the credit check shows she is paying all get other bills, she is probably telling the truth.