Property Manager | Tenants Screening Scams Property Manager Needs Beware

Property Manager | Being a property manager is a rewarding career, but sometimes you have to deal with less than honest people with potentially harmful intentions. Knowing the warning signs of a tenant screening scam is vital for a property manager to ensure they are protecting the property and owners from future conflict. Here are some of the most common scams that tenants try to pull during the screening process:

1. Requesting a Quick Move-in with Cash Upfront- A tenant who comes with cash for the deposit and move-in fees and requests to move in immediately is a huge red flag for a property manager. Tenants may also entice you to skip the background and credit check by offering to pay several months upfront or even the entire term of the lease. While this may sound good as far as rental payment goes, your tents can be trying to buy you off to leave them alone while they are conducting illegal businesses on site. 
2. False Credit Reports- Some tenants might drop off a credit report with their application, claiming to want to save you the time and hassle of running it yourself. A busy property manager can be tempted by such a proposition but 99.9% of the time these tenants provided credit and background checks are fake. 
3. The Sublease Scammer- Some tenants will move in and then try to sublease the home as though they were the owner. The original tenant will usually require an excessive move-in fee or several months of rent upfront, pocket the money, and skip town. This scams the new tenant as well as the property manager because the tenant is now broke and living somewhere illegally while the property manager has no way of recovering the rent money. 
4. Fake Paystubs- Most property management companies recommend that tenants as a household make at least three times the rent in monthly income. If you require paystubs for verification from prospective tenants, make sure to verify those pay stubs or earnings reports with their company. 
5. Fake References- Everyone has a friend willing to lie for them, and tenants will often ask their friends and family to pose as former employers or landlords to get a good reference. Rather than call the employer phone number on the application, search the business name and call the business directly then, ask for the name on the application. 

A great property manager can see a scammer from a mile away. If you want the best property manager for your rental home, call Scott Properties of Charleston at 843-790-4929.