5 Ways to Spot a Fake Landlord Reference & Avoid Scams

Nationally, forty percent of all landlord references are bogus since applicants provide the phone number of their roommate, coworker or perhaps themselves posing as the landlord to ensure a great reference.

There are even companies that renters can hire that will pose as their landlord.

Below are tips to spot a bogus reference that should trigger an immediate termination of the application.

Google the phone number
You may think you are calling Sunshine Property Management when in fact you are calling a fake landlord. A simple online search of the phone number may provide you with a person, address or company name adding clarity.

Call direct
Do not call a direct line or cell number if you can call the property management company or the landlords place of employment directly. Google the landlord and/or company, call the main line, ask to be transferred, and now your direct.

Check references
Search whitepages.com or Google the landlord’s name, as well as, look them up on social-media sites. Check to see if this person is tied to the potential tenant through tagged pictures and posts. If there is overlap in the people’s profiles, these individuals may have a personal relationship and not a tenant-landlord relationship.

Analyze answers
It is best to always fall back on your experience as a landlord and analyze the answers that a fake landlord will provide. If their answers are vague and do not have good detail, then it’s likely they are not the landlord.

Ask for advice
It would not be unusual for one landlord to ask another landlord for some advise. Ask anything, such as how they get rid of a tenant who does not pay or for an eviction service. A real landlord will have an good answer.

In conclusion
A property manager needs to find the bad apples through a solid verification process to avoid costly placement mistake, and always stay a few steps ahead of the applicant.

I hope this was helpful and feel free to reply or call me at 949-209-9494 with any questions you may have regarding this topic.