Are the References You are Receiving Legit for Your Panama City Beach Property

  • 3 years ago
Are the References You are Receiving Legit for Your Panama City Beach Property

Every day, almost 1,000 people move to Florida, and affordable housing is getting harder and harder to find for tenants. This means that some people will do anything possible to try and secure a property in Panama City Beach, including faking references.

Because of this, you might be at risk of renting to someone who isn’t as credible as they say they are. So how can you differentiate between fake and real documents?

Here are some ways to tell whether the landlord reference letters you’re getting are legit or not.

Search the People

What’s great about having the internet at our fingertips is the fact that you can easily search for practically everything you want. Simply put the reference’s name into your favorite search engine and see what pops up. You can also try searching their name on social media platforms.

What you’ll want to check for is whether the person’s real, and if they’re related to or have a personal relationship with the applicant. If you see lots of tagged pictures with the 2 of them, then it’s very likely that they never had a tenant and landlord relationship.

Call the References

Another surefire way to check if you have a legit landlord reference letter is to call the numbers. If they’re fake references, the numbers might be out of service, or someone different will answer the phone.

You can always cross-reference the phone numbers to see if the owner of the number’s name matches with the listed landlord’s number.

In some cases, potential tenants can be so cunning that they arrange for someone to be a fake reference, so they’re expecting a call. Make sure you ask detailed questions if this seems to be the situation.

Some things you can inquire about include move-in/move-out dates, how much rent was, what amenities were in the apartment, and if there were any issues during their lease. Fake references won’t be able to answer them very well.

Check Tax Records

In the landlord character reference, the applicant should’ve provided you with their prior addresses and corresponding landlords. Look up the tax records for those addresses and see what names are associated with them.

If they don’t match up with the names on the reference letter for landlord, this means the potential tenant has faked it.

Enlist Professional Help

If you have multiple properties or aren’t confident in your detective skills, you can always get landlord reference letter advice from a property management company.

These professionals have years of experience sifting through reference letters and know how to tell fake from real. Plus, they’ll take this time-consuming task off your hands, so you don’t have to stress out or waste your own time.

Know How to Spot Fake Landlord Reference Letters

By knowing how to spot fake landlord reference letters, you’ll be able to weed out the bad from the good. This will allow you to rent out your Panama City Beach property to those who are reliable and trustworthy.

If you’d like help with managing your property, then contact us now. We’ll make your job much easier.

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