San Diego Housing Market News and Analysis

FLU's golden rules of conducting business

#1. Protect yourself from getting screwed.
#2. Don't do anything that gives desperate people any shred of reason to sue you (as ridiculous as it may be).

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Congratulations on doing #1...

Let me ask you this... What do you personally gain from doing this??That's right. Absolutely nothing....Why bother rocking the boat when you have nothing to gain from it? Don't break rule #2...

Here is the full list of Flu's rules:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4g4nUE4ikE

I would gain zero financially. I might feel better. Maybe. Thank you for putting this in proper perspective. God bless you for responding and God Bless all the members of this forum. Motown

Who cares? Other landlords will see the same problems and run screaming. (Or not run, and just require a large security deposit in ca$h.)

Birmingplumb, if you can't get a good tenant who actually IS who they claim they are by the time school starts and you don't plan to occupy the property in the future, why don't you consider putting it on the market?

May I also suggest insisting on a middle initial or middle name of your applicant if they have not provided one and also entering the SSNs your prospective tenants put on their apps on the Social Security Death Index?

http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.asp...

This is to see if they "borrowed" a SSN from a decedent.

In addition, MANY males who have fouled up their credit and have the same name as their father (exc poss a middle initial) are using their (dead or alive) father's name and SSN for credit purposes. This is one of the most common "mix-ups??" at the three major credit bureaus :=0

Also try intelius.com, plugging in the names and purported state your prospective tenants list they are from on their apps:

http://www.intelius.com/

to determine who their (purported) family members are and their (purported) last (up to six) cities/towns they lived in. For a small fee you can obtain much more information. Match those addresses with the addresses they claim on their application to have lived at. With a "day pass," you can enter info from multiple applications in a 24-hr time period.

I wouldn't waste another minute with a fraudulent application except to respond to the applicant if they call you that their credit report wasn't up to your specifications or you were unable to run their credit report because they didn't provide you with enough (or the correct) information. If they know they were trying to pretend to be someone else or the LL(s) they listed on their app are actually "friends" and/or relatives and can't provide you with any more info, they will go away quietly.

In the absence of age-restricted CC&R's, bad/insufficient credit, being an unemancipated minor and bad landlord refs are the ONLY reasons you can legally turn a prospective tenant away.

Again I am amazed at your knowledge and insight. I will check them all using your information. Thanks and God Bless You! Mike

update. 3rd applicant. Had 595k mortgage he did short on in 08. He is business owner, claims 100k. No stubs provided. He sent credit report showing several loans written off by bank, largest 67k. He owes 4k and late since 2011. When asked for reference from landlord he balked, says does not want to clue in present landlord he is leaving. Called bluff and asked for copy of lease as white pages .com shows his parents at same address he provided and claims he leases. No response 2 days.
So a pattern in Detroit and probably elsewhere not talked about by Piggs in Hot San Diego market has developed . A large pool of renters who still like the standard of living they are used to, with bad credit, with large bank accounts from not paying any bills or mortgages for 2 yrs is in need of prime housing for rent. Keeping little Johnny in his same school could be key. I have a call into a top lawyer to explore how to capitalize on this trend. If they can sell cars using "Bankruptcy OK" in adds, we can do same with houses and with right lease and right lawyer protecting us (and insurance) May have stumbled upon something. There is a pool, a very large pool of people with a great sum of cash, waiting for 5 or 7 yr time limit on credit reporting to expire, who need to rent and they do not want starter condo's. How do we make a million off of these guys before the 5 yrs is up?Motown

If they have tons of liquidity but all these red flags, you need to simply adjust your deposit for the risk you are taking. Assuming your laws do not limit the deposit and you have consulted an attorney, just CYA with an appropriate deposit and an iron-clad lease, full credit check, detailed application form filled out and checked.
One your applicant has "skin in the game", he will perform or pay the price. (a lesson lenders disregarded a few years ago)

All that you said may be true,BG, you definitely know a lot! In the end, I take who I want for tenants. Sometimes people get a little mad about it but no one has so much as called me back on the phone after being disqualified. Too bad, it's my property. Not that I say exactly that to anyone.But I screen tenants until I get one I want. I have a history of "diversity" in tenants and even in roommates so my conscience doesn't bother me, so screw the law.

Just curious, How many small scale diy property managers have you ever seen in trouble for not renting to a specific party? I have never met one.

Lol. I had a tenant in the bay area that was driving a mercedes S. And the dude wanted to rent from me. I pulled his credit, and he filed BK a few times, and I was thinking WTF is this dude driving around in an almost new S class. and the BK filings really threw me off the rocker...S I waited and waited for another tenant, this dude kept calling me and calling me, despite me saying no... the last time when called me and i said "no thank you", he said literally, "why don't you fvcking go back to china"...Lol..