What is a Professional Tenant, Application Fraud, and Rental Scams?

What is a Professional Tenant, Application Fraud, and Rental Scams?

What is a professional tenant, application fraud, and what are the scammers tricks used to gain access to a rental? What can be done about it? Can a tenant face criminal charges?

Intro

If you think you can spot a bad tenant in the first five seconds, I assure you, you can't. It is impossible. Sure some people are obviously a no-go, however, professionals are professionals for a reason. They are well practiced and have been at their craft for years if not decades. If they had not chosen a life of crime, they could have been a wicked psychologist. They know all the psychological tricks and can suck anyone into their scheme leaving you helplessly hooked. Oh you sucker you! Thousands of dollars later you wise up, or so you think till the next one comes by. And again, you hate how easily you have been duped. And no, you cannot rely upon credit checks and background checks to weed out the bad guys. They know the tricks there too! Let's turn the tables. Let's begin right now. Are you ready?

For anyone who does not know, any landlord can tell you dozens of stories of bad tenants that will leave you wondering if the story is real. It very likely is. If you are a landlord, you are wondering what makes a bad tenant bad enough to be considered a professional and how to spot them before it is too late. Well, you are in luck! I not only explain what is going on, but give you a lot of clues, some tactics to combat the problem, and some stories to represent the common ways tenants scam landlords. You will be better prepared to do battle with the bad guys and save your time, energy, and love for your better tenants.

What is a professional tenant?

A professional tenant is someone who preys on landlords with the intent to deprive the landlord of their property, income, and rights. Intent is the key. Many professional tenants understand the law, application process, and background check process well enough to gain access and retain access to the property. This is often done with the knowledge they will not be paying the rent. Professional tenants are a huge problem for landlords costing thousands of dollars per year and often costing them to lose their property. This has been an ongoing problem for decades with a sharp increase in tenant fraud for the past few decades. With biases in favor of the tenant and against the landlord, laws largely have not addressed this problem and remain unchanged. Even where limited laws exist, landlords find it difficult to recuperate losses and seek justice. Judges, more often than not, will decide in favor of the tenant even with clear evidence of fraud or wrong doing. Prosecutors are reluctant to bring charges of fraud even when fraud is clear. (More on this later.)

Is lying on a rental application fraud?

In short, yes. It is one thing to make a mistake or misremember a detail or two, that is a given and bound to happen from time to time, clear misrepresentation on the rental application is fraud. While some legal professionals refer back to the tenant landlord laws stating that the landlord has a remedy within the courts, nothing can be further from the truth. Simply put, while the tenant landlord laws do apply, so does contract law and others. Legal professionals, with respect, give short overly simplified answers to questions or comments. So to say that the tenant landlord law gives remedy to such matters belies the point. And I get it. As humans, we tend to put things into "pockets". Please make no mistake here, lying on a rental application is fraud and prosecutable. In the past decade, as fraud becomes more prevalent, courts and the media are starting to pay attention. Landlords are paying attention too. (More on this later.)

Do professional tenants leave clues?

There are two answers to this question. Sometimes. Eventually. Because professional tenants know how to skirt the law and use the law in their favor, they may be able to remove evictions from their record, remove judgements and collections from their record, use alternative identities, or use completely false or someone else identity to shield their efforts. Because identity theft is so prevelent in an electronic world, use of anothers identity or alternate identities may be easy to do. Smart professional tenants are very difficult to identify and may be impossible to identify. This is because as far as the landlord can tell, they are seeing a tenant with a history that looks complete and fine. Otherwise, if identity manipulation is not used, it can take quite some time, years in fact, before blemishes on their record begin to appear. For example, court eviction records may not be publicly available right away. While most records are processed as quickly as possible, the gaps allow a professional tenant time to gain access to another rental. Smaller or less populated counties may not have the tools or the man power that others have. This is not a slight. Existing processes were fine for a long time. This is why professional tenants target these areas. Target areas are heavily effected with increases in crime, drugs, and quality of life issues. Smaller courts and police departments can easily become overwhelmed. Smaller landlords are targets for the same reasons as smaller counties. Tools and resources availble to smaller landlords are beginning to appear, however, because industry believes smaller landlords do not need as much or will demand less than larger markets or even not a large enough target audience to establish an adequate profit base, these tools remain very limited. (More on the scale of the small landlord market later.)

What about a tenant who is down on their luck?

Smaller landlords like to help people. It is just the nature of the beast. The hear stories of tenants who have had difficulties in their life and will try and make accommodations where they can. When this happens, it is a beautiful thing. However, professional tenants are prolific liars and tell the same stories. Worse yet, they can back up their lies with documentation often false. Professional tenants are often far more convincing than tenants down on their luck. They know how to suck the landlord into their story and they know when they have you hooked. So while there are tenants who deserve consideration, professional tenants have made it impossible for a landlord to know one from the other.

What about a tenant who is just a bad tenant?

Some will argue there is a thin line between a bad tenant and a professional tenant and they may be right. Some will argue they are the same. I argue differently. Bad tenants are just that, bad tenants, not bad people, just not good tenants. The key is intent. For a landlord, both will still cause much destruction and pain and why they may be lumped into the same basket. Landlords will often not care one from the other and they shouldn't. One thing is clear, the list you use to know a professional tenant from a bad tenant contains some overlap. However, to use a check list for bad tenants may not be enough for professional tenants.

What are the traits and clues left behind?

Some will argue that there are exceptions to these traits or clues and they are right. For example, just because someone has bad credit does not mean they are a bad tenant. You should be looking for several traits or clues before making any decision. Of the first several items in the list, many can indicate a professional tenant, however, this list is not fully exhaustive. Also consider that young or first time renters may be living with relatives, have bad credit, and have low income. You will need to use discretion when evaluating tenants for suitability.

• Bad credit. (trait)
• History of evictions. (clue)
• History of judgements from landlords or otherwise. (clue)
• History of collections. (trait)
• Excessive utility debt. (clue)
• Gaps in rental history. (clue)
• Gaps in work history. (trait)
• Does not complete the rental application fully. (clue)
• Fills out the rental application too quickly, not taking the process seriously. (clue)
• Volunteers personal information too readily or inappropriately. (trait)
• Relates several stories of hardships. (clue)
• Complains about past landlords. (clue)
• Talks about discriminatory practices of others. (clue)
• Tries to impress you with their knowledge of the law. (clue)
• Unnecessarily braggadocious trying to impress you with what are obviously lies. (clue)
• Goes by more than one name. Common nicknames okay. (clue)
• Birth name and name on drivers license differ. Common nicknames okay. (clue)
• Background investigation returns several names under one Social Security Number. (clue)
• Uses several variations of the same name online with different independent accounts. (clue)
• Hesitates or refuses to give critical data such as social security number, date of birth, drivers license and state, etc. (clue)
• Asks few specific questions such as the rent, the security deposit, etc., leaving out questions others would normally ask. (clue)
• Does not have a bank account or does not provide bank details. (clue)
• Does not have a credit card. Not a show stopper in all cases. (trait)
• Unusually eager to move in. Trying to rush the process. (clue)
• Cash and carry. Tenants who offer cash and expect keys now. (clue)
• Tries to pay security deposit after move-in. (clue)
• Currently under a month to month lease. (trait)
• Looking to move mid-lease. (clue)
• Has extensive traffic violations. (trait)
• Has a tax lein or owes money to the state. (trait)
• Does not have furniture. (clue)
• Unusually eager to please or be helpful. Rather odd in offerings. (clue)
• Currently lives in a motel. (clue)
• Lives with relatives. (trait)
• Claims to be escaping a bad or intolerable home situation. (clue)
• Changes jobs often. (trait)
• Constantly borrows small amounts of money or asks for cigarettes. (clue)
• History of paying rent late. (clue)
• Unable or unwilling to provide proof of income, either pay stubs or tax records. Tax records can be false though not often prepared by professional tenants. (clue)
• Offers a pre-printed credit and/or background check. Take the information, but always do your own checks. (clue)
• Has previously vacated a rental or failed to give adequate notice. (clue)
• An unusually high number of friends or acquaintances. This may be a sign of drug or other activity. (clue)
• Leaves trash or property and does not do a final clean before moving. (trait)
• Seemingly disorganized. (trait)
• May be talkative or overly friendly. (trait)
• Drives a beater car. (trait)
• Arrives with a friend in the friends car when they have a car. (trait)
• Arrives late or not at all. (trait)
• Make excuses. (trait)
• Requires time or assistance to make initial move-in payments.(clue)

What extra steps should I take to avoid a professional tenant?

Most of what you will find useful is not available through online tools though I do like the online tools. Sorry. These tools are not generally designed for this scenario, though some are better than others. What really works is to forget the online tool and hire a professional private investigator. Many will not like this answer, however, with a good private investigator you will have access to the information the online tools try and shield you from for simplicity. For example, if a social security number returns the use of more than one name. Raw data is very useful, far more useful than a graph. Online tools have their place and are rather nice. I use them myself, however, after years of experience, nothing replaces human intelligence with experience. Let the investigator sort through the details and stay out of the details yourself. You may not be entitled to what the investigator is entitled to. It costs more, granted, however, it can be far cheaper in the long run. Residences in multiple states, multiple drivers licenses, documents filed with different names or variations of the same name, appears on multiple police call logs, etc. is useful information. So are mismatches in residences, employers, etc. Longer arrest records with or without convictions is another clue. While landlords are restricted by the information they are allowed to review, the private investigator can review this information for the landlord without disclosing it to the landlord. Remember that most private investigators are retired police officers and know specifically what to look for to sniff out a fraudster.

Check the phone numbers used and City-Data.com.

Phone numbers can give clues. Do an online check. Most of the time the phone number will have an accurate name and address associated with it. However, sometimes all you may find out is where a phone number was assigned to. In all cases, take any city or town information you have either volunteered or taken from the phone number and look up the location using City-Data.com. Compare the "Crime rates in [town] by Year" table with your own town. If someone calls from a high crime area or references a high crime area, think twice. Some places are well know for drug activity especially selling prescription drugs and heroin. It is quite common that traffickers in one area will try and find another location to ply their trade. Word gets around. If one has success, others will follow to other areas close by. Especially if one is arrested, another will certainly follow to keep the established relationships supplied and the drugs and cash flowing usually in about one month or a few weeks. I just got a call from a location that is so famous for crime and drugs that it has it's own reality show. The crime statistics found on City-Data are staggering. This call follows the arrest of another trafficker a few weeks ago. In "The Girlfriend" story below I illustrate why you need to know how drugs are trafficked and the routes used particularly through your area. Can I say the caller is trafficking drugs? No. But the odds seem to be good at this point. Young (in their 20s), girl calls, boyfriend is heard coaching the girlfriend in the background, she does not know the phone number she is calling from, coming from an area extremely well known for drugs, crime, and trafficking, did not give a name (something honest people do), does not provide any other information. While not all traffickers are young, most who come to landlords seem to be in their 20s or low to 30s. Honest people know their phone number and have a story to tell. They will give a name and will quickly volunteer the reason why they are moving. Traffickers, for whatever reason, do not generally offer a name or a story. The girlfriend almost always calls and has not thought ahead enough to have gotten the phone number before calling. She is not calling from her phone but her boyfriends. If you can get a name, call the police department in the area they are calling from and simply ask the police if they know the person and how they know them. You will need to explain who you are and why you are calling. Trust will not come automatically but slowly. Give your information and prove, if you can, who you are. It may be the police cannot comment due to ongoing investigations but will often give clues. Ask if they would rent to the prospect. That simple question often works. If possible, get your local police to call the other police department and ask questions. It wont take but a couple of minutes and can be valuable intel for both police departments. Knowing who is calling, why they are calling, and where they are calling from is critical even before meeting someone. Why? Because in the past decade there has been an up-tick in landlords getting robbed by people calling from out of town. It is not uncommon for someone to move from town to town, however, if outsiders do not often relocate to your area, be especially cautious. Please.

Talk to the local police.

Talk to the local police in person even when you are faced with a person moving into the area or do not think it is necessary. The local police can look into their call logs, complaints, arrest records, and other information that has not been made public yet or would not normally be made public. You have the right to information your tax dollars have paid for. While many police departments are not used to such requests and may be reluctant, many will appreciate your efforts to keep the neighborhood safe.

Research and be sneaky with references.

Ask work and landlord references for information you have collected already. Look up the previous work places and rentals for specific information that talking to the right person should know. For example, for an employer, look the employer up online and ask about the products or services the company provides. Another example, the landlord should be able to talk about the amenities of the property. Find information not found online quickly on the first page of search results. For example, if the property is managed by a company and that company address. Another example, are a companies PR announcements. Do not ask leading questions that can be answered simply. You want dialogue. Ask questions with simple mistakes in them. For example, the tenant rented a one bedroom apartment, so ask about the two bedroom apartment. Ask if unit 6 is on the ground floor when the unit rented is 12. Thoroughly investigate who you are calling. If the apartment complex advertises one phone number and you have another, this is a clue. Call the advertised number and ask for the name given on the application. Ask how the person knows the applicant. Keep this conversation alive. Often, this simple question will yield psychological leaks which may seem odd if not immediately. Take notes. Go back and talk to the applicant and do some of the same things. If you can, go see the employer and rentals for yourself. Just looking at the properties of both can often tell you much. You can even ask the landlord to meet you at the property. They will be able to knock on the door and address the current resident by name or even have the keys and show you the property if empty or allowed by the tenant. In short, investigate the references thoroughly and use them to investigate the prospective tenant.

Know when a reference is hesitant.

While there is no real technique for this, see if you can determine if any landlords or employers hesitate to comment on the applicant. If the review is not glowing and seems a bit tepid, it may be the landlord or employer is avoiding commenting on the applicant. Keep this conversation alive. Often, after a period of time, the landlord or employer may slip or gain confidence in you and open up. Assure them that anything they say will not be repeated. Take notes anyway to cover your bases. Do protect the landlord or employer in your notes where you can. Also, compare the dates on the application with what the landlord or employer says. Not all landlords or employers will have this information at their finger tips. See if the landlord or employer is willing to check their records. Most are willing to take this step. Often, a landlord or employer will have other information they forgot about in their records that they are willing to share such as problems with neighbors, unusual amount of traffic in and out of the apartment, inquiries by police, etc. These are clues.

What is said in person should also be investigated.

Remember anything said in person can be investigated also. For example, if the applicant says they started a business, investigate to see if that fact is true. If the applicant states they are medically retired, investigate this too. Ask previous employers about details offered in person. Same with landlords. If the applicant says they had trouble with a neighbor, ask. Do not restrict your investigation to what is on the application only. Do social media searches. This may not always yield results, but sometimes the results are surprising. Do a Google search for the applicants name and exhaust all entries. Most of the interesting stuff is not found on the first one or two pages of search results. If you find someone you can contact associated with the applicant, call them and ask about the applicant. What might appear to be a model applicant may unravel quickly by going off script. Remember that professional tenants write the script with the application and the stories they tell. By going off the script, you may find some truth that exposes the whole plot.

Ask for a drivers license.

While asking for a drivers license may not solve issues where an applicant is using multiple identities, it may give clues if they refuse or hesitate to provide the id. Check the name against the application to see if there is a reasonable match. Remember that a professional tenant may use variations of their legal name to escape their past. For example, use their middle name as their first name, use married names when they are divorced, use hyphenated last names, use different spellings of first or last names, use nick names for common names, etc. If the id matches the application, it does not mean you are out of the woods. It is just one step which may help. Your application should already ask for a full name, a drivers license number, and state. Write down the name used, the state, and the drivers license number if it does not match the application exactly. Mismatches can be used in any investigation.

Check previous rental payment history.

Check with previous landlords for timely rent payments. Ask about anytime where the applicant was late. You want to hear a story if you can. Ask more questions to find out if there was a reasonable issue that was resolved quickly. Besides the ability to pay the rent, often a monthly income 3 or 4 times the monthly rent, paying on time, paying on time consistently, and making a payment within a reasonable time in times of a financial crisis, are positive clues that you have a good tenant. However, professional tenants know that keeping the landlord happy by paying the rent quickly allows them to continue the scam by gaining the landlords confidence. This only may only last for a while. If a tenant has a longer record of making payments on time, this is good, However, if on time payments only occur for a few months or a fraction of a year, this is a clue. Professioanl tenants sometimes are using the landlord to hide. Paying the rent and keeping their head down by staying out of trouble with the landlord may be the goal in laying low.

Check to see if mail was properly forwarded.

Where you can, look to see if the applicant has used the US Postal Service to forward their mail. If not, this is a clue. Often, the professional tenants will notify the companies or entities in person that are critical to themselves allowing all others such as creditors to go blind. Ask the previous landlords about any mail that was not forwarded. If it seems that mail was not forwarded, that is a clue.

Can an applicant or tenant be charged with fraud?

Yes. Absolutely. Prosecutors are not used to such requests and will likely pooh pooh your request at first, however, where two or more landlords making the same request, they will have to acquest. Once prosecutors get used to these requests and figure out how to prosecute these crimes, more prosecutions can be sought. Just this can bring down crime. Criminals, drug users, and professional tenants all go where they can get away with what they want to get away with. Once this is no longer the case, in other words, a place becomes uncool, they will leave. Word spreads fast in the criminal world. Once prosecutions begin, it will not be long before professional tenant complaints plummet. It is a simple process of removing what is desirable from those who are undesired. It is the broken window theory.

So what does the law say on this matter?

Please note this is opinion and not legal advice. Intentional lying in-person or on an application, misrepresentation of facts, omission of facts, fake references, and any other activity to gain access to property and thereby denying the landlord their right to property is indeed fraud. One parallel is a loan application which is routinely enforced criminally. Civil remedies are not remedies and a misnomer when you consider that almost no landlord is able to collect for losses. Here is the Pennsylvania law on the matter.

Title 18, Chapter 39, Sub-chapter B, 3922, (a), (1) Theft by Deception

§ 3922. Theft by deception.

(a) Offense defined.--A person is guilty of theft if he intentionally obtains or withholds property of another by deception. A person deceives if he intentionally:

(1) creates or reinforces a false impression, including false impressions as to law, value, intention or other state of mind; but deception as to a person's intention to perform a promise shall not be inferred from the fact alone that he did not subsequently perform the promise;

Title 18, Chapter 39, Sub-chapter B, 3921, (b) Theft by unlawful taking or disposition. Immovable property.

§ 3921. Theft by unlawful taking or disposition.

(a) Movable property.--A person is guilty of theft if he unlawfully takes, or exercises unlawful control over, movable property of another with intent to deprive him thereof.

(b) Immovable property.--A person is guilty of theft if he unlawfully transfers, or exercises unlawful control over, immovable property of another or any interest therein with intent to benefit himself or another not entitled thereto.

There are a few keys here. "A person is guilty of theft if he intentionally obtains or withholds property of another by deception." Intentional lying in person and upon the application and the use of further deception such as fake references is clearly "deception" with the intent to "obtain property". The law supports the notion of obtaining property.

Section 250.503. Hearing; judgment; writ of possession; payment of rent by tenant

(a) On the day and at the time appointed or on a day to which the case may be adjourned, the justice of the peace shall proceed to hear the case. If it appears that the complaint has been sufficiently proven, the justice of the peace shall enter judgment against the tenant:

(1) that the real property be delivered up to the landlord;

...

(b) At the request of the landlord, the justice of the peace shall, after the fifth day after the rendition of the judgment, issue a writ of possession directed to the writ server, constable or sheriff, commanding him to deliver forthwith actual possession of the real property to the landlord...

This strongly indicates that the property is in possession of the tenant and not the landlord.

So has a tenant ever been charged for fraud?

Yes. However, this is often along with other charges such as bad check writing and likely considered an add on charge. Here are some links of interest.

Tenant to serve time for lying on rental applications.

A Toronto tenant recently convicted of defrauding two of her landlords by lying on her rental applications will serve six months in jail, according to a report by the Toronto Star.

The consequences of providing false information on your rental application.

Sometimes the Act Is Charged as a Crime

Though it isn’t common, there are cases where a landlord has filed charges against a fraudulent renter. However you look at it, providing false information on an application is fraud. It is equal to passing bad checks. Every landlord is different and depending on how much trouble he feels the lie or lies have caused or the amount of money he feels he is out are factors as to whether or not he may want to file charges. The consequences of the fraud vary from state to state.

Nightmare tenant charged with fraud.

Last week, Carde was charged with 12 criminal counts. Prosecutors say that she’s a fugitive wanted in lieu of $150,000 bail and that police are looking for her.

For the past five years, they say, Carde has engaged in an elaborate scheme to dupe home sellers out of their properties. Presenting herself as a legitimate — and wealthy — buyer, Carde would enter into lease-with-option-to-purchase agreements with homeowners, move in and then stop paying rent, according to an investigation by prosecutors and the state Department of Financial Institutions.

Are there any laws specifically targeted towards this type of fraud?

Yes. Minnesota does define this as fraud. You may notice the date of the law is 2013. Here is the link to the law:

http://www.homelinemn.org/wp-content/uploads/police%20manual.august.2013.b.pdf.

VIII. LYING ON A RENTAL APPLICATION A tenant who lies on an application to get an apartment is guilty of theft. 32 The statute states that theft has been committed when a person "obtains.. the possession or custody or title of property of... a third person by intentionally deceiving the third person with false representation, which is known to be false, made with the intent to defraud and which does defraud the person to whom it is made."33 Such theft is at least a misdemeanor, but may carry a more severe punishment depending on how the court values the lease obtained by the fraud.

Can "Do Not Rent" lists help?

Yes. And no. Do not rent lists may not always be updated quickly enough to prevent a tenant from jumping from one landlord to another even with the best of intentions. This is not necessarily the list providers fault. Court paperwork and electronic records can take time to process and produce. In addition, complaints that have not yet been heard in court may not appear. The three major credit bureaus, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax collect tenant landlord cases electronically and makes them available in their own reports or provides this information during a credit check performed by another company. What is clear is these lists, while not fool proof, are largely effective for any landlord.

Some do not rents lists do have their issues where the data is not clean, meaning that only valid cases of abusive or delinquent tenants are listed. Some lists take landlord complaints directly. All entries should be validated which can be a simple matter for most of the data. So what should be included on a do not rent list? (opinion)

• All evictions where the landlord prevails.
• All lawsuits for damages where the landlord prevails.
• All criminal charges won in court where the tenant is charged and the landlord is the victim.
• Any bond or insurance claim with evidence and the tenant has not won an appeal and/or arbitration.
• Any 3rd party complaint where upon penalty of law the landlord swears to the facts of the complaint and provides evidence to establish a reasonable prima facie. A process that allows the tenant to rebuke the charges must exist.

Do not rent lists could potentially contain some additional information such as stolen identities and police call log data and these entries can be identified as a warning making the list more effective.

So what are the economics of these scams?

Nearly half of all rental properties in the U.S. are owned by small operators. Two thirds of these properties are not profitable and have not been in the past decade or more. Many landlords have filed bankruptcy, been foreclosed, lost their properties to property taxes, and forced to sell out for pennies on the dollar. This is not only tragic for the landlords and their families who mostly are retirees or supporting their families on little income, but also has lasting effects often for life. Worse yet, the losses in tax revenues is staggering, the losses in circulating cash is significant such as purchases for hardware goods, hiring contractors, fuel and utility purchases, etc. Many of these landlords are now forced to collect government benefits while owning the property and after losing it. This was not the case before. Landlords could count on 4% income from their rentals historically, however, this is no longer the case primarily or solely because of losses landlords face from professional tenants and/or bad tenants and cannot possibly collect. Loses can easily be many thousands of dollars a year. Year after year after year. States need to wise up and recognize that losses landlords face are also losses the state faces. It is one thing to mandate taxes such as property taxes, however, income tax and sales tax losses are incredible. Think about how many thousands of landlords are not making money, not paying taxes, and not circulating cash within their own community. Do the math. The numbers, even estimated, is enough reason to begin changing the laws to support the landlord, provide support services for landlords, and stop thinking of landlords as bad people when the vast majority self report they are in the business solely to provide quality housing for good people.

So what are some example scams?

The subletter.

Someone rents an apartment or house then after a period of time sub-lets the rental to one or more people for more money than the rent and collects security deposits which they keep. All the while, the landlord is unaware this has happened and the rent continues to be paid. Somewhere along the line the landlord gets wind of the scam. Even if the lease restricts sub-letting, scammers do not care what the landlord has to do to clean up the mess. They only care about the cash they have taken. Meanwhile, the landlord has not been able to screen and control who occupies the property and must evict unnamed tenants which can be nearly impossible if the occupiers are uncooperative. The landlord has no choice but to include the police which may not want to get involved and identify who is occupying that rental. Not only does the eviction need to be for those who signed the lease, but also for those who are sub-letting the rental. This can be a significant cost depending upon how many named defendants there are. Eviction costs are often based upon how many people are to be evicted.

The girlfriend.

A girl inquires about a rental, looks at the rental, fills out the application, and after being approved signs the lease and moves in. Shortly after, the boyfriend moves in who would not have passed the tenant screening. This is done intentionally. The boyfriend wants some place to live and knows he cannot get one so he sends his girlfriend shopping for a place. The problem is this is not where it ends. It is likely %100 of the time the boyfriend is a drug trafficker from somewhere along a drug trafficking route such as the Turnpike, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, or down Route 70 such as Baltimore or even Washington D.C. Soon after, the girlfriend may move out but not always. This is a very dangerous situation. It appears the local recent murder was such a pair. Often, the drug trafficker will find a lonely local girl with little relationship experience and establish a sexual relationship leading the girl on. She will do almost anything he asks, but he does have to talk her into it at first. It does not take long before she is fully complicit in all aspects of his criminal activities. This happens very fast. Just a few months most of the time. The landlord has the added complication of dealing with criminals, their friends, their customers, the police, etc., often ruining the reputation of the rental and landlord severely restricting who will rent in the future.

The victim of an abusive boyfriend or husband.

While we all hear stories of abuse, and it is very heartbreaking when it happens, landlords hear these stories more than you can imagine. It is a simple game of playing on your sympathies. Landlords want to help when they hear these stories, however, most of the time, the story is just a story. Where the scam works best is when an applicant begins to limit what the landlord can check all for various seemingly good reasons which also sounds sympathetic. The scam is to get the landlord on the applicants side and in the fight with them. The intent is to paint a picture where the landlord will not check the applicant as closely or much at all. If the landlord falls for the story and fails to check thoroughly, all matter of hell can break loose. The applicant can be psychotic (really), an abuser theirselves (really), a criminal fugitive wanted by the FBI (really), using the rental address to scam others, etc. Some are running from the law and need a place to hide. Some just want free rent and have no intention of paying. Whatever the reason, always check the applicant and, by all means, verify their story. Many are professional liars and have people, fake references, and documentation ready to bolster the scam. It may be impossible to tell if a specific story is true, but do what you can. For example, if you can find relatives not used as references, call them. One aunt spilled the beans that her sisters family will lie for the applicant, but she will tell the truth. I was then able to validate what the aunt was saying was true. As it turned out, the lying family members were listed as previous employers and previous landlords. And the abusive husband? Apperantly a saint according to the family court judge who wanted to know where the applicant was.

The charity used as cover.

There are a lot of good charities out there with people who really care. A professional tenant can spin their yarn to various charities to gain their confidence. From there, with enough people on their side and willing to take on the cause, they can then cloak the applicant in legitimacy and will vouch for the applicant. Landlords hear their stories and want to help. However, naivety begets naivety in these cases. Do your homework and assume the charities have not. It is likely that they only took the applicants story as given assuming no one would lie about such matters. They are not landlords. Worst yet, some are willing to be complicit in the lies by allowing some lies to go unchecked when told. Some believe it is okay to lie a little to help people in need. Where to draw the line for some could be confusing. Some charities have taken on serious liabilities by being complicit in the lies without realizing it. Remember a lie can be fraud. Charities have unwittingly committed fraud which would not have been excused in court.

Trust me, I will get it to you.

Never give out keys, sign a lease, or let go of any control of your property without completing the entire process yourself. For example, "I lost my storage locker and need to move some stuff today. Can I get a key to move my stuff in?" Or, "I have to get money from my other bank and I do not have my bank card with me. I will get it to you tomorrow." Or even, "I have my background and credit information in my car. This will save you some money." Do not fall for any offer or excuse and relinquish control of your property by handing over keys or signing a lease prematurely. Also consider that a professional tenant has no problem writing a bad check. Go to the bank with the applicant or by yourself. But do not accept a check as payment without verifying or cashing the check at the issuers bank yourself. Often, you can simply look up a branch phone number and explain why you are calling. You want to confirm the check is good as of the time you call. Many banks will guarentee the check for you which, by the way, "you can take to the bank." However, if the applicant offers you a phone number to verify the check, watch out! Keep in mind that a professional tenant can make sure there is money in the bank to only take it out before a check clears. The thought is that they can prove that the money is in the account by showing you a deposit slip or other valid proof and then take the money out of the bank the same day before any bank has the time to clear the check. Meanwhile, they have your keys and a signed lease.

What you do not is see is not what you get.

Payments that have historically been paid regularly, may not always happen. Professional tenants may take advantage of trusting landlords who may no longer be paying full attention. The tenant may not have sent a check last month or even the month before. Professional tenants look for senile landlords just for this purpose. Often the tenant will be particularly helpful to gain trust and distract the landlord. If caught, the tenant gently blames the landlord. "I wrote the check. You might have misplaced it." If a landlord takes electronic payments and finds themselves too busy to check the details, tenants can easily get away with skipping payments. Landlords who take electronic payments should use a service that allows for billing, collecting payments, and reporting of payments and make sure that all payments are in by the 11th at least.

Guilt before innocence.

Not all professional tenants want free rent. They want your building and your money! Known as drive-by lawsuits, cases can be filed where there is no valid claim, however, because a civil law suit requires only a complaint, filing a claim can be done anytime by anyone. For example, someone can file a suit because a hotel has an illegal diving board even when the pool no longer exists. The complainant does not have to visit the hotel or even be within 1000 miles of the place. Also, quasi governmental organizations have power and authority granted to them by states that allows complaints to be filed particularly regarding the Fair Housing Act and other matters such as ACA, discrimination, etc. These organizations do not validate the complaint but do provide a hearing in which both parties attend. The problem here is that these organizations are often heavily funded by left wing organizations with agendas and staffed from these same organizations. These quasi governmental organizations are not a court and decisions often favor the complainant with the power to set heavy fines, judgements in favor of the complainant, and recommend criminal charges and jail time which often a landlord is convicted of. Again, the complaint does not have to valid. For example, a restaurant does not have a menu in braille. The complainant has never been to the restaurant. In this case, it cost the restaurant $40,000. People who engage in these activities can easily earn $100,000 or more a year all tax free without having to pay a dime for attorney fees and court costs. If you are hit with one of these, your goose is likely cooked. They are very hard to defend. And because these complaints are often federal matters, you can be taken to federal court in addition to having a complaint filed and state charges. Even when a valid defense can be made, it takes $10,000 just to get to the hearing and long before any federal matter is sought. And that is the point. Settle or else lose everything proving your innocence. Because the complainant is not paying the attorneys fees, and the attorney is being paid under grants from other left wing organizations often with ties to the quasi governmental organization, attorneys fees are not a problem for the complainant as it is for you. There is no free attorney for the defense. Never in cases such as this. Good luck finding an attorney who will want to take on a losing case unless you are Daddy Warbucks loaded to the gills with the green stuff. The complainant s attorneys can simply waste your attorneys time and your money with ridiceulous requests such as rejecting clauses within their own offer, a document they wrote. If you want the definition of insanity and injustice, this is it! I have only touched the surface. It gets far crazier and the relationships far more incestuous.

Whats yours is mine.

It is common that a tenant rents a house or apartment that then at some point begins to sell the property of the landlord. This includes appliances, furniture, and anything else not nailed down. In some areas this can be quite common. One landlord found their furniture being sold at a yard sale at the rental. Others may find their property for sale online. Calling the police may not help claiming it is a civil matter when it is a clear case of theft. Landlords should talk to the local police regularly so that they know each other. Since this rarely happens, police do appreciate it even if it initially receives resistance. Be persistent. Be friendly. Even in a heavily populated area this can help. Collect business cards from the police you are familiar with after you have established a relationship. This really helps in smaller towns but also works well in larger areas.

Final thought.

Keep a close eye on your tenants. While most will be fine, some may not be. It is okay to be a bit sneaky. Go by later at night or late into the night, over the weekend, more than once a day on some days, periodically hang out with your tenants, and keep your eyes open and listen carefully. Tenants will not want to rat out another tenant, but will if they know you more personally. You will be shocked by what you find out. Remember the police? Yes, they too may drop by, drive around your property more often, talk to your tenants, and even park close by and walk around or watch your property from a distance. They too may be able to tell you something shocking. They may be able to give you a heads up if they have suspicions. They may certainly be able to give you clues before taking one a new tenant. If a landlord really cares about their property and tenants and helps the police by keeping the house free from problems, the police will see the landlord as a partner and will be willing to help in the effort, share information, and support you when you need it.