Re: Uneasy about applicant - Landlord Forum thread 332436

Re: Uneasy about applicant by John Brayton (Massachusetts) on March 21, 2015 @20:12

If he was living with his sister and his sister does not own the property, there should have been a landlord. Ask the applicant for the landlord's contact information, and contact that landlord as you would any other. If the story is true and the living arrangement was above board with regard to the prior landlord, the landlord should have known he was living there.

If you do get contact information for that landlord and the story matches up, be sure to confirm that the landlord is he is who he says he is. Confirm that he owns the property in question, and that he rented to the applicant and to his sister. Drive by the property late at night to confirm that his car is there.

I suspect that the above will give you plenty of justification for turning down the application. You will either catch him lying, or find that he is not forthcoming with the landlord's contact information. That will give you solid justification for declining the application.

I may be wrong, but I believe that an arrest in which charges were dropped is a legally questionable reason to decline the application. Also, while declining based on a lack of rental history might be valid, including his age in that justification might be questionable. Be careful about what your reason is for declining the application.

John

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Re: Uneasy about applicant by J (FL) on March 21, 2015 @20:31	[ Reply ]

Thanks John--do you mean he should have been named on the lease if he is living there? The property in question is in a bad neighborhood and far from where I live, so I think I'm going to pass on driving by there late at night.

Re: Uneasy about applicant by John Brayton (Massachusetts) on March 21, 2015 @21:28	[ Reply ]

He should have been named on the lease unless the sister's lease allowed for long-term guests. Most lease agreements specifically prohibit guests staying for more than a certain number of days. John

Re: Uneasy about applicant by J (FL) on March 21, 2015 @21:18	[ Reply ]

It turns out the phone # he listed on the app (for himself) isn't his -- it's for some health care clinic?

Re: Uneasy about applicant by John Brayton (Massachusetts) on March 21, 2015 @21:29	[ Reply ]

Good. Inaccurate information in the application is justification for declining it. John

Re: Uneasy about applicant by Becky (IN) on March 21, 2015 @21:30	[ Reply ]

Then you can reject on the basis of the application containing false info. From all you've said, I'd definitely pass on this one. Hope you find a good tenant soon!

Re: Uneasy about applicant by J (FL) on March 21, 2015 @21:38	[ Reply ]

Hi Becky, Yes, it turns out the address he listed for his sister may be incorrect too -- the address number is correct but the street name is based on the "Person Search" I ran through Quick Check. And other apartment addresses came up too.

Re: Uneasy about applicant

The above post is mine.

Re: Uneasy about applicant