Spotting Fake Landlord References

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A good tenant is, indeed, hard to find. Most landlords find the new tenant search to be the most challenging aspect of the job — even with all the digital tools at your disposal, it’s ultimately a judgment call on your part whether to accept an applicant. To make the tenant search even more of a headache, the current and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has added an extra layer of anxiety — what if your super-looking applicant gets laid off next month? First, accept that the world is different, and there are many things that are just beyond your scope of knowledge or control. Focus instead on the things you can control, like getting a quality tenant. You’re thinking, I have a strong application process with background and credit checks, and I always check for fake landlord references. 

That’s a good start — as long as you are aware of fake landlords who give fake landlord references. There is a thriving economy for false references in the rental world — Paladin Deception and Reference Pal are among two of the worst. These sites quite cheerily outline how they will fake your landlord references (for a small fee, of course), and you, the landlord, will ever be none the wiser. There’s also a Reddit thread dedicated to how to fake references — that one is free. 

The following tips are tried and true ways to spot a fake landlord reference — sure, it takes a bit more time than simply calling a number and asking a series of boilerplate questions. But an hour of your time is well worth avoiding a scam tenant. 

Check out Social Media

First stop, check social media for a fake landlord. 

Look through your prospect’s pages — Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are good starting points. See if the reference is a friend or follower of the applicant. Are they tagged or photographed together? Do they “like” each other’s posts and leave comments? Okay — how many of your tenants do you go out with on St Patrick’s Day? If social media hints at a personal relationship, cyberstalk a little deeper. Is there a professional profile page for the rental company, or are the social media ghosts? Also check out the landlord’s website to confirm they are legitimate. 

Pay Close Attention to Responses

False reference responses can be really vague, or, conversely, too personal.  

When you call the reference, skip the prepared questions and engage the respondent in conversation about the prospect. This gives you an idea for whether there was a real business relationship, or if the reference is a hired gun or best friend.

If the respondent agrees to everything you say, mumbles uh-huh, or doesn’t have much recall for simple questions (did they have a pet? Were there pet damages to the property?).  Hesitancy is another red flag, as is a sudden need to get off the phone. 

On the other hand, enthusiastic responses that tell too much are equally bothersome — how would you, as the landlord, know that they take really long showers and hog all the hot water? While it is possible there is a personal relationship between the landlord and tenant, it’s unlikely — just like it’s unlikely that the fake landlord would not recall if the police had the property on their Saturday night rotation. 

Get Verifying Details

Again, throw away the scripted questions and engage the party on the other end. Rather than reel off the information you have about the property, ask for the data — what were the move in and move out dates, what was the rent, applicant’s social security number, birthday — even verify the property address. Keeping detailed records is a must in the property management business, so be very skeptical of a reference who can’t answer basic questions. One caveat — the professional cheats will have most of this information, so it’s up to you to dig a little deeper. 

Get Details on the Property

You’re both real estate professionals (in theory), so ask the reference about the property. How many bedrooms and bathrooms? Were any utilities or city services included? What was the square footage, was parking included, were there other amenities (pool, clubhouse, playground) or add-ons? Vague responses or the inability to answer are the hallmarks of a fake landlord reference.  While you’re talking shop, get some of the info wrong — number of bedrooms or parking spaces, for example, and see if they catch the mistake. 

Check Tax Records

Search local tax records to verify the property address — some addresses listed as a prior residence don’t even exist. Also, search the landlord’s name to see if they in fact own the property. A matching name and address is generally a legitimate situation, but there can be reasonable discrepancies if the landlord is not the owner or has very recently sold the property.  

Call the Reference Looking for a Rental Property

You’ve got the phone number for the fake landlord, so give them a call to inquire about a property for yourself. The false references will be completely flummoxed and hang up, or stumble over their words. Professional fakes expect this call, and will give you some information on some properties they have. Ask for links to their listings. If you just get verbal data, press for an appointment to see the property. You might browbeat them into a showing, but undoubtedly they will cancel on you. 

Stick With Legitimate Processes

Spotting A Fake Landlord Reference

As a landlord, you have your own responsibilities towards the applicant. Even though an applicant sets off every alarm bell in your head, you can’t just turn them down without conducting a thorough investigation. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) has strict rules regarding the disposition of applications, and refusing to rent based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, or family status is illegal. The fake landlord reference company Reference Pal markets specifically to applicants who are disadvantaged, and are on the lookout for landlords who fail to cross a procedural T or dot an I to get unqualified tenants into properties.  Ultimately, it is your responsibility to do your due diligence on all applicants and determine the best candidate.

Keep It Simple

One way to protect yourself against applicants who fabricate references is to let them know in writing, on the application, that lying on the application in any fashion is grounds for a refusal to rent, and if the tenant is accepted, grounds for eviction.  Professional property managers have the experience to spot fake landlord references quickly and without a lot of hassle, so consider hiring a professional for this and all your management needs — let them worry about screenings and trolling social media. 

Contact us to learn more about spotting a fake landlord.

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Your portal includes a selection of extremely useful reports. Reports are available in the “Reports” section, and are distinct from the financial statements. Unlike financial statements which are static records, Reports are dynamic real-time records that will update with current data every time you view them. 

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Navigate to the "Reports" module in your portal:

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Enhanced Rent Roll Report
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Income Statement by Month Report
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The Documents area contains monthly financial statements:

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Download a statement to see month and YTD financials:

Owner Portal Property Statement

You'll also find a month-over-month operating statement:

Month over Month Statement

Portal Communication Tool

You can use your owner portal to communicate with our team. Any messages you send through the portal will go straight to your Account Manager. When we reply, you’ll get an email notification and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

Here’s an overview of using the communication platform:

Click "Communications" and navigate to "Conversations":

Commincation Dashboard Screenshot
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Click the "New Message" button and send your message:

Owner Portal New Message Screenshot

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Portal Conversation Response Screenshot
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You can reply in-line using the comment box:

Owner Portal Comment

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Portal Conversation Snapshot

Understanding the Ledger

Your portal includes a ledger with all transactions. The ledger is populated with data in real-time as transactions flow through our accounting software. Much of this information is also available in the Reports area, as well as the Statements in your Documents library, but the ledger is the most comprehensive resource for diving into the details. 

Please scroll through the sections below to get a better understanding of how to interpret the ledger. 

By default, transactions are sorted chronologically:

Owner Ledger Dates
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If you have multiple properties with Nomadic, you'll see the address for each transaction in the "Location" column:

Ledger Property Column
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The Description column displays the transaction type:

Owner Ledger Description Column
  • BILL: this is an expense transaction, such as for repair costs or management fees.
  • CHARGE: this is a transaction  billed to the tenant, most typically a rent payment. 
  • NACHA EXPORT: this is a credit we processed to your distribution account. This type of transaction is how you get paid! 

The Amount column shows the dollar value of each transaction:

Owner Ledger Amount Column
  • Positive Amounts: if an amount is positive, it reflects a transaction that is payable to you. Typically, this will be a rent payment that we collected from your tenants. On occasion, a positive number could also signify a journal entry or credit adjustment. 
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The Account Balance column shows a sum of positive/negative transactions at a given point in time:

Owner Ledger Account Balance Column
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Navigating the Propertyware Owner Portal

Your portal includes some extremely useful features that help you understand your property’s financial performance at a new level, with real-time transparency into every transaction.

Scroll through the snapshots below for an overview of portal navigation! If you need more help or have specific questions about using the portal, you can reach out to your Account Manager any time for a screen share. 

You can filter all info by date range or property:

PW Portal Filters

View a snapshot of income and expenses on your dashboard:

PW Owner Dashboard View

See every transaction in real-time on your ledger:

Owner Portal Ledger View

Statements and forms will be posted to your documents library:

Owner Portal Document Library

View a suite of real-time financial reports:

Portal Reports View

See a running list of all bills, and drill down for more detail:

Owner Portal Bills View

Under Bill Details, you'll find dates/descriptions/amounts and more:

Portal Bill Details

You can also communicate with your Account Manager through the portal:

Owner Portal Communication Tools

How do net distributions work?

Net distributions keep your accounting clean and simple. Each month we’ll collect rent from the tenants, deduct any repair expenses for the previous month and any management/leasing fees for the current month, and credit the remaining net operating income to your account. 

Net Distribution

You’ll receive a statement via email each time a net distribution is processed, and can view all transaction details in your Propertyware owner portal.