All Forum Posts by: Angie W.

@Account Closed You are correct that is why I did more investigating before I jumped to conclusions. However, this property was owned by a private individual (according to tax records) not an LLC or other business name and was listed as a residential rental.

@Dawn Anastasi LOL I loved that show.

The kicker on this one is that I was able to trace the name she listed as owner even though she varied the spelling of the first name. Turns out this "owner" has just been given their 10 days before the sheriff comes and before marriage (found the marriage record) she used to have the same last name.

She also put a previous address that she claim to live at for 20 years but it was not the right address!

This lady was really friendly and neat in appearance. Just goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover.

Many people think that individual landlords are pretty stupid and lazy and that they won't check anything...

Just proved a point that was brought up a few days ago about verifying that you are speaking to the actual landlord and not a friend/family member.

My applicant listed her current address and listed the owner and telephone #. Before I even picked up the phone I went to the county auditors web site to check who the owner was. It did not match - not even close. I then went to check court records on her. There were a few, and none of them listed either address she had listed on her app.- that supposedly covered the last 26 years.

Out of curiosity I looked up the "owner" listed on the app. She ("the owner") is currently being evicted herself from another house on the street - and after some digging I was able to determine she is probably the daughter of the applicant.

I'm not even going to justify this with a phone call to tell her she is denied. She can find someone else to con.

Just thought I'd share because I am sure this one little step saved me a lot of headache. I knew something just didn't feel right. Guess my gut instinct was right.

I have an applicant that receives worker's comp in addition to SS disability.

I see that SS will give them a benefit verification letter - but I can't find any info on verifying workers comp. (i.e. amount, frequency, for how long). She has given me some type of bank statement from April - May. I am not familiar with how this program works...it appears that the post the money in this account (vs. sending her a check or depositing it into her own personal account) and then she has some type of card access.

Has anyone dealt with this?

@Dawn Anastasi I totally agree!

@Bill S. I can appreciate that the lock box may work in some instances. In this one it will not. It took me 2 months to get the psycho out of this property and she knows a lot of people in the area. She was more or less a squatter (conned my last tenant into letting her move in and then had him arrested) and still stops by the next door neighbors telling them she can rent the place. She thought she left on good terms with us. 1. she was not living there legally. 2. She trashed my house. She is a very good con artist and a professional tenant. I have reason to believe that she is having friends trying to get the place so she can move in with them. I have to be very cautious with this property. If I just trusted someone with a phone call, Lord knows who I would be giving access.

As for the address on Craigslist. I will never do it. We just had a scam right here in my town that was all over the news a few weeks ago.

I'm glad that it works for some people as I am sure it cuts out a lot of time. But it's just not for me.

I am seriously considering a property manager for certain aspects of this property.

All very good ideas...

@Bill S. If I did a lock box on this property I would have squatters in there the first day I gave out the code. I do agree about the for rent sign...at least for this property. The people it has attracted have not been very attractive candidates - which is what I figured to start with. On the other hand my Craig's List ad does give me a more qualified candidate but so far no one interested enough to fill out an app. I also agree about the phone time. In my market it is really hard to steer them into a conversation. They simply call and say "when can I see it" and I have to steer them into a conversation. I have found that it is best to ask questions than to rattle off the requirements. They never pay attention anyway, and then show up with a sob story, or try to convince you they are able to pay etc.

I hate having a vacancy this time of year. It is frustrating!

@Colleen F. The reason I don't list this address is as Steve mentioned above - too many scammers. And the home is vacant so I don't want to blast it all over the internet. This is also the reason I don't offer the address right away on calls. I tell them the area it is in. Depending on how far the appt time is I tell them I will call with directions and the address a few hours before hand - this way I have more of a chance of them showing up.

@Dawn Anastasi Do you just set a time for an open house and advertise it? Or do you just tell all prospective people about it when they call?

@Steve Babiak Good idea about asking them what they are looking for instead of volunteering the specs up front.

Hi @Corey Liepelt

I'm in Columbus also. I see you're in Dublin - my focus is more Southwest Columbus/Grove City area.

We currently own 1 rental and it is continually a learning experience! I won't say it is bad, but it can be hard and tiring work at times. We've only been at this 3 years but if I can be of any assistance feel free to ask!

Thanks @Dawn Anastasi

I think the open house is what I am leaning towards now. Makes it a lot easier and a little less time consuming. I think I will set up one morning and one evening during the week and one weekend day.

Do you find it hard to juggle more than a couple of different groups of people at a time? Can you get a feel for them and keep them straight after an open house?

@Roy N.

I'll have to check into email with an auto responder...never thought of that.

Do you find 20 min appts. to be long enough? I've been doing 45 min - 1 hr. apart which I have discovered is too long and leaves me sitting. I've also thought about the open house concept.

Right after I posted this I got a call for an appointment - after setting the time they mentioned the previous squatters (last tenants psycho girlfriend) name who lived in my house unauthorized and trashed it after she had him arrested. This is the very reason I didn't want to put a sign in the yard. There is no way on Gods green earth I would rent to anyone who knows this girl on any level. But now I am stuck showing it - couldn't think of an excuse - even though I know she won't qualify. Ughh.