All Forum Posts by: Ariel O.

paging @Account Closed

@Susan M.

I see this a lot, and I understand both your view and the potential tenant's. 

We educate people to beware of phishing attempts, to safeguard their SSN, to not enter personal information on sites we don't recognize, correct?

Then along comes someone you probably just met on Craigslist (which has these huge warnings in the Rental section about Scams), and then you get an email from something called "MySmartMove" which asks you to click and enter all sorts of personal information.

Just as an FYI the start to finish rate on SmartMove is around 50-60% - meaning only 50-60% of people starting the form will finish it.

It can go either way, but if I was not tech savvy that's what I would see.

We are REI people are familiar with the various credit bureaus, with mySmartMove or the Experian product. But if you're a normative tenant moving every 3-5 years, you're not up to date on the latest and greatest in RE technology, and even if you have an iPhone and buy stuff from Amazon on your phone, you're not going to want to enter your SSN online, on a site you've never heard about.

Brandon,

In general (and MySmartMove is slightly different legally), you need the signed application giving them permission to run the check first.

If you send them down SmartMove then they authorize it so technically you don't need the application. I too would be weirded out by an email saying enter your SSN on this page.

Ari

@Rohit Jindal

Sorry for the delay.

There are two risks you need to mitigate when buying specifically Septic.

The first risk is just basic lifetime of the system etc, what your costs might be, that sort of thing.

The second risk, and to my mind the more complicated one is the environmental risk. Is the system ok now? What different outcomes might result from various regulatory decisions? Might I be required to upgrade my system against my will because of EPA requirements now or in the future? 

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, I just think for the first park and to protect your cash you're better of not.

I can tell you that both as an investor and from a PMGuardian point of view, I Talk to a lot of mobile home park owners. The two uniform things people complain about are park owned homes and septic/well.

@Brandon McCombs

One other 'trick' I've heard from Section 8 landlords is to get access to their case file/talk to the caseworker and make sure there is nothing bad that happened in the past.

Does HUD care if you do a background check? What happens if you deny based on your criteria?

@Pavel Sakurets

I am really sorry that you fell con to this man, but I'm glad you evicted sooner rather then later.

Most Landlords start out like this, so take it as your education and you'll save yourself more money in the future. Unfortunately you can't trust people when you have to protect your money or your assets. A lien search would have definitely turned up the tax lien, I wonder what other info there is.

Good luck in the future, and may be it smooth sailing from here on in!

@Sarah Miller

It will only output their background info. They don't give you a full rental application.

Ariel

@Kevin Coleman

Sorry just saw this now.

Yes - at least for us the process is a bit complex as we try and build specific questions for each customer so it's not cost effective if you have 1 property.

@Rohit Jindal 

Is this your first park? I would walk on Septic alone.

The park owned homes have close to no value. This is often an issue when you work with sellers. That's my .02 anyway. Some people like to think the damn things are worth something on their own.

I am also trying to page @Jefferson Lily but the mention button won't work for him.

@Zach Schwarzmiller

Have you tried hiring a skip tracer? Do you have his SSN or Driver's license #?