Gaining the approval of the rental agent is the goal of every rental applicant. They will try their best to impress the agent to prove that they are responsible tenants. Other than one’s attitude, one of the most vital things that rental agents ensure is an applicant’s financial capacity to pay the rent regularly by conducting income and credit checks.
It means that applicants with poor credit or minimal income have a low chance of being granted a tenancy. However, since their need to find a home is still there, some of them may have some tricks up their sleeves to convince the rental agent to skip the credit check.
As a rental agent, you have to make sure that you don’t fall for these schemes because if you let your guard down because of your desire to close a deal, it could backfire and negatively affect your reputation as an agent and your relationship with your clients.
As much as possible, never skip credit checking and never let applicants succeed in manipulating you into taking shortcuts in the tenant screening process. One of the best ways to protect yourself is by knowing the tactics that applicants use to hide their credit information from you.
Tactic #1: Upfront Cash Offer
Applicants may offer immediate cash to cover both the rent for the first month and the security deposit. In exchange, they would request you to speed up the move-in process and set an early move-in date.
How it Works
Cash is very tempting because there’s no risk of bad checks, and it means you won’t have to go through a tedious and detailed screening process and get to fill in a vacant unit that is not generating income. Immediate cash is also convincing proof that the applicant has money, so you would assume that there won’t be any harm in skipping the credit check.
The Catch
Although the applicant may legitimately be financially capable but has no time to wait to move in, there’s also a high chance that they are trying to run away from a bad rental situation or other obligations. The money that they will pay is maybe all the money that they have.
Tactic #2: Questioning the fees
It is common practice for rental agents to ask for rental application fees to cover the cost of doing background checks. The fee amount is often very affordable. One tactic that an applicant uses is to leave out some data on the forms, complain about the fee, or act offended that you need to do a background check.
How It Works
As an agent, an applicant could emotionally manipulate you by accusing you of hurting their feelings and doubting their integrity for needing to conduct a background check. Because of the guilt, they might convince you to waive the fees or skip the screening process.
The Catch
If an applicant resorts to this kind of emotional manipulation, it could imply many things. One implication is that they know that you will discover something during the background check that could affect their application. It can also mean that they are not financially capable of paying rent because they make a big deal out of a small fee.
Tactic #2: One of Many Adult Tenants
When a family or group of individuals would rent one unit, all adult individuals must undergo the screening process. One of them might request to be the only one named on the lease agreement, claiming that it would simplify things and save on rental application fees.
How It Works
Chances are, the other adults don’t have a clean record. If the adult with the clean record will be the only only one screened, the other adults can “escape” the screening process.
The Catch
If they plan to divide the monthly rent among all adult tenants, they wouldn’t be able to pay the full amount each time one of them can’t afford to pay their share. It would also be more difficult for the landlord to reprimand, charge, or evict the adult tenants who were not mentioned on the lease even if they cause conflict or default on payment.
It is your responsibility as a rental agent to meticulously review rental applications and do all the necessary background checks without shortcuts. When potential tenants start reaching out to you after you publish a listing on Padleads, be clear to them that you will not approve any application without executing a complete screening process. No exceptions.