Property Investing

Hey guys,

You may remember me mentioning last week the importance of using landlord forms in your property investments. Well this statement has never been more true nor more vital than it is today! You see whilst I was browsing the web this morning, I came across a story that really alarmed me. So much so, I thought I should let you know about it.

In this article the writer discussed the issue of older renters who are currently offering fake references and creditentials in order to acquire a rental property.

It was scary to see how high this figure was! I know personally I have had the odd fake reference in the past, but the number of tenants who are actually trying to do this is astonishing, if not incredibly alarming.

In a report released by the Letting Protection service they discovered that 25% of 50 year olds faked their references when applying for a new property. Yet of the 10,000 professional landlords surveyed in this article they found that this issue was not just restricted to the over 50’s market. 42% of them had also encountered problems with tenants aged under 29 too.

Do the maths between these two groups and you are left with a select tenancy group who behave only slightly better than the rest: 29 -50 year olds.

This article really put my rental properties into perspective. If I am completely honest I found myself wondering how many fake references had got past my radar when I first started out.

I know personally I was just thankful to have applicants interested in my properties, so beyond doing the usual credit checks and asking for references, I was more than happy to take them on if I thought they could afford my rental property.

With such figures on hand proving that a large quantity of tenants will willingly give you fake references, it does make you question the vitality of using tenant applications to ensure the success of your rental property. Not only can you ensure that the references you receive are directly from the sources that have been listed on their application, but you can ensure that every facet of information is genuine.

Anyways I thought I would bring this story to light, as I know now that I am going to be more thorough with my reference checks – as well as with everything else.

Speak soon

Wendy xx

PS. If any of you are interested in reading more about this story, here is where I found it: http://www.residentiallandlord.co.uk/news1746.html, plus here is that link I told you about again. They have got a sample tenant application form you can use to improve your reference system:

http://www.propertymentor.co.uk/landlord-resources.php