If the applicant comes from the pool of people that I or my tenants know, I use real estate as a way to give back as many of my tenants will not qualify credit wise or may even have a criminal background or would struggle for another reason if I were to just stick to the "background/credit check" criteria. 

You’ll thank me when eviction drama hits, or turnover costs come calling.Fines = Behavior TrainingSometimes, tenants behave worse than toddlers at a candy store.

I have talked through all this with another student and he feels like what they are doing could be considered criminal and is talking to a friend of his at the FBI.

Section 1014 criminalizes the act of making false statements to a financial institution.

I look for behavior tell tale signs. 

However, a lot of concerns can be mitigated with looking at their past rental behavior in a lot of different settings.

Several economic factors are contributing to this shift:Overbuilding: Some areas of Charlotte have seen significant overdevelopment, leading to an oversupply of rental units.Tighter Money: Rising interest rates and economic uncertainty have made tenants more cautious with their spending.Tenant Behavior: Many responsible renters are choosing to stay put rather than take on the cost and hassle of moving.What Does This Mean for Landlords?

Padsplit residents can cause problems with neighbors and other residents because many have substance abuse and/or criminal histories. 

There is something called CCAP in Milwaukee where with the tenants name and DOB we can look up and civil/criminal court cases.

There are many scammers out there, with histories (criminal and financial) that they are not proud of, trying to raise money.