Are there any 'fake tenant' type scams?

[MrsCipo]

I rent out a house and have advertised through OpenRent (which I've used before and are great). I got an enquiry straight away from a lady who wanted it immediately - was pushing for moving in as soon as possible, barely even wanted to view it. Something about her eagerness made me think it was somewhat dodgy... It wasn't even for her but 'a colleague' (who changed between male and female during the conversation, although it sounded like English wasn't her first language). She was at pains to point out how he earns £60K+ and how he's so keen for a beautiful house like mine to call home... (it's a 2 bed terrace in a not-really-all-that-nice part of town - on that salary round here you could get something central/very nice indeed).

Something about it just screams 'dodgy' to me... Anyone heard of any scams of fake tenants and how would they work? The current tenants haven't yet moved out, so I can't rush anyway and OpenRent do a full reference/credit check etc, so if it is fishy I guess she won't bother to go through all that - I just wondered if there's anything I should know about as I've not needed to look for new tenants for a while!

They fill it with beds and have 30 adults move in each paying x amount the the person on the lease making a fortune

Not sure but one of our first prospective tenants was from Hong Kong. He wanted to use our first floor flat of a converted terrace (ie sound an issue) as a massage business's. Also wanted to pay cash in rent (as is the norm in Hong Kong) and not sure he had the right visas to stay. We were going overseas for a period so we said no. I think his poor friend who was accompanying him knew it was dodgy!!

The scam I can think of will entail paying the deposit/rent in advance, plus an additional amount which is his money as he doesn't have a UK bank account yet on the understanding you will then transfer it to him once he's here. You'll be sent a cheque for a reasonable amount, say £100, for your trouble. When you pay the cheque in it will turn out to be fake. It's an attempt at money laundering.

I had loads of these on OpenRent, they were mainly agencies looking to rent it cheaply direct then sublet at a much higher price. I got used to spotting them in the end and each time reported to OpenRent. Had no issues finding tenants though, 20 odd applicants and someone took it on the open day so I would use it again given the massive price difference vs an agency.

Yes!
I use Open Rent but we have to screen loads out. I had 38 enquiries in less than 12 hours for mine. We replied to about 5 of those and found a great tenant from that 5.

You have to be brutal! You'll get false names, illegals, sub-letters, cannabis farms all sorts otherwise. If they sound overly keen it is definitely dodgy.

I'd also do your own credit and reference checks - we use Experian but also gut instinct.

Oh crikey! I was thinking along the lines of wowfudge's point - but it sounds like there are plenty more besides! How did you decide which to screen out theunsure ? I reckon I could get a good feeling on meeting someone, but it's hard to know from an email enquiry. Apart from this one, obviously, but I'm sure some scammers learn to be more subtle!

Don't rent to them! They'll sublet and give you nothing. The other scam is a tenant(s) with all the paperwork, usually paying the rent in advance, and turn the place into a cannabis farm.

Look at the email address or mobile number if they urge you to call them and Google it. A lot came up that way attached to some sort of 'business'. Some were just wanting me to rent through them saying they'd get a higher rent etc. so not dodgy as such but still against OpenRent rules.

One of my criteria was meeting everyone who would be moving in but to be honest everyone who turned up on the day seemed genuine, a mix of families and young sharers.

It's the tenants who pay on time and who don't complain you have to worry about.

They won't give any cause for you to visit as they don't want you to see what's happening.

the six months in advance is now dodgy too - that can mean the respectable couple you rent to aren't the ones who move in, it is their friends the dealers. Most insurance policies exclude illegal activity so you then have a wrecked drugs den, a lot of crime going on and up to a year to get them out.

facebook stalk all prospective tenants, google them, ask the last landlord but one. Thorough right to rent checks (law anyway) as YOU get fined if they aren't legal.

usual too good to be true warnings apply. And even the most normal person can fall apart, which is when the vultures move in. Make very sure you have all those expensive insurances.

It's the tenants who pay on time and who don't complain you have to worry about

The tenants who are just moving out were like that - and here's me thinking they were fab

It's the tenants who pay on time and who don't complain you have to worry about. That's dh and I then! This is why I employ a letting agent to do all this for me whilst we are abroad. She is like a scary headmistress, she scares me, but in the 12 years she has been dealing with my house, the tenants haven't missed a payment.

Sorry I forgot to come back to this thread.

It's hard to explain how I filter them - I do it in a similar way to the way I shortlist job applications at work (I do a lot of recruitment). So I reject bad spelling/grammar, and reject outright anyone who hasn't ready the ad properly e.g. if they ask questions that are explicitly answered in the ad as it tends to mean they are sending out 100's of standard requests without reading the ad which screams Scam.

That usually reduces it down by about half. Then of the rest I start with the ones that replied soonest and arrange viewings and see what feeling I get about them. I always google/facebook to see if that reveals anything interesting - often does!

I rent to professional singles/couples only - it is a tiny house so won't accept loads of kids/pets (will allow some pets and max 2 children).

My new tenants that moved in last week are a young couple expecting their first. I set the credit search/affordability bar pretty high - if there are 2 tenants they must have joint tenancy and must each be able to afford it on their own. I don't take benefits of any type.
Sounds harsh but I am not a charity - my house is in excellent condition and in a great area. I set the rent at a realistic level, I'm not trying to extort people but in return I am picky. I have never had any gap between tenants and only had 1 bad tenant - my first when I used an agency instead of doing it myself.