How To Spot Tenant Rent Scams

The Warning Signs Of Tenant Rent Scams

If you’re active in any type of home rental leasing you’ve probably run across more than your share of tenant rent scams.

In the 5 Step House Rental eBook we spend some time discussing various ways to qualify tenants, including the “First Date Technique”, and share other tips, tools and techniques on avoiding tenant rent scams.

=> Learn More About How To Qualify Tenants

I wanted to share with you this tenant rent scam of my own that I ran into the other day, one that had “red flag” written all over it, with the hope that you’ll be able to read the writing on the wall and avoid a big problem.

How To Spot Tenant Rent Scams

Here are three ‘red flags’ that you can look for when keeping an eye out for tenant rent scams:

Tenant wants to move in right away
The tenant hasn’t seen your home for rent yet, but knows yours is the one they want to rent
They have money in hand, all paper work filled out, and seem almost too good to be true

Let’s take a look at each tenant rent scam red flag in a little more detail.

Wants To Move In Quickly

This is red flag #1 with tenant rent scams.

The tenant will always have a reason that they need to move in quickly, something to do with a hardship they’re facing or some unexpected emergency, something that will appeal to your sense of fair play and emotion.

While the tenant’s story may be true, more likely than not you’re setting yourself up as a victim in a tenant rent scam.

Stick with you prospective tenant qualification program and don’t feel like you have to cut corners or rush just because the tenant needs to move in right away.

Your House For Rent Is The One They Want

This is tenant rent scam #2 and is again designed to appeal to your emotions.

Out of all the houses for rent, they picked yours.

Which by-the-way they haven’t actually seen yet, but they just know your home for rent is the one they want.

The ploy is a favorite among tenant rent scammers and is designed to get the landlord to think that renting to this tenant is a fait accompli, that doing your normal background and credit checks on the tenant is just a detail.

Among tenant rent scams this one is surprisingly effective since people always like to be flattered, and landlords are no exception.

I’ve Got The Money And I’ve Got The Application Filled Out

This is the first thing that the tenant rent scammer told me when she called about the house I had for rent.

Right away I saw the red flags and knew I needed to be on guard with this prospective tenant.

#3 of our tenant rent scams involves the tenant trying to demonstrate to you that they’re the perfect renter. After all, if they have their money in hand and paper work completed, what could go wrong?

Think about the last time you rented something. Did you come with money in hand and paperwork filled out without actually seeing the thing that you wanted to rent?

I didn’t think so.

Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for her, I’d just rented the house.

Tenant Rent Scams And Fair Housing Laws

You may have noticed that one theme that runs throughout this article is to stick to your tenant qualification process, a procedure we cover in detail in the 5 Step House Rental eBook.

=> Learn More About Fair Housing And How To Rent A House

Make sure you have a system in place to qualify tenants, treat all tenants equally and fairly, and don’t unintentionally violate any fair housing laws.

I hope you've found this article on tenant rent scams useful for when it comes time to rent your house.

Jeffrey Roark
How To Rent My House