Too late to back out of a lease?

Too late to back out of a lease?

Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 0 votes

Long story. A lovely older couple applied for my rental.  They appeared perfect in every way right down to an almost glowing application with a high credit score, no debt.  Being anxious to get my place rented I quickly screened by calling the employer stated on the application after looking up the business name/phone online and having a wonderful conversation with the 'employer'.  Unfortunately, it was not until after we signed the lease and collected the deposit that I started feeling uneasy as if something was just not right.  So I started digging further to see who I was actually renting to.  Although they viewed the property as a couple, when the application came through, it was just the woman's.  Their explanation was that they were not really planning on living together right now and that the man may decide to move in later and be added to the lease.  Seemed like a reasonable explanation at the time.  To ease my anxiety, I went to check out their Facebook profile again (I did this prior to approving) but was looking more closely.  What I started to realize was that I was never given the man's name.  I didn't push for it since he was not being added to the lease.  As I searched the woman's Facebook profile, I realized that none of the photos of them together had him 'tagged' nor were there any comments from him.  I couldn't identify him at all.  So I started digging through the friends' comments on the photos leading me to other 'friends' profiles to see if I could find him.  Well, I did finally.  He turned out to be the 'employer' I called.  A quick Google search revealed that he was recently involved in a very large drug bust just a few months ago.  Now I'm sick to my stomach. There was no way in hell I was handing the keys to my house to these people. We had 30 days until move in day.  I reached out to the woman explaining that a family situation just arose and we will not be able to rent the house.  Although annoyed, and probably knowing I figured things out, she agreed to me returning her deposit and instructed me to mail it back to her home (which I suspect is a false address).  My bad for not pushing for a landlord reference at the time.  Again, her explanation for not providing her landlord info was that her landlord was terrible which was why she was moving and she did not want him called.  She did not want to give notice until she secured a new place.  Again, my bad for not seeing this as a red flag.  My hope is that they will just go away, but my fear is that they will not as they have a signed lease in hand.  What do I do?

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  • Brad HammondBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Portland, OR · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 605 votes
    6y

    Yikes, that is a scary situation.  If they actually lied on any portion of the application that is grounds for termination.  I would also send them a certified letter (if you have their address) stating that the lease is null and void.  Obviously, keep a copy of that along with the receipt for the certified letter with photo documentation.  

  • Real Estate Broker · Northeast PA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    6y

    Lesson learned.  Hint:  @Brad Hammond is correct about providing false info.  However, it's an easier case to prove if you have that clause on both your rental application and in the lease itself.  

    BTW, in most states, there is a "unified judicial system" that has civil and criminal records that can be accessed online.  We always check these records and sometimes find that an applicant has lost an L/T case and is about to be locked out.  

    Funny thing--they never put that on the application, although there is a question about l/t court and eviction.  Guess they think no one actually checks.

  • Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    6y

    Thanks guys!!! Really appreciate the info. These applicants really got under my skin and hid much of the info I needed to properly screen.  Plus I was mentally and emotionally drained after weeks of screening so many potential renters with 300-500 credit scores, evictions, insufficient income, fake landlords, fake employers, fake ID's ... after all that I knew better, but my judgement was clouded when I finally got a credit score over 700 and what looked like a decent paying job.  NEVER AGAIN!

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