Hi.
I am looking for any additional advice on renting to an international student and what kinds of due diligence or background checks I can look into for this individual. He has also informed me that he is currently working right now to make extra money before he goes back to school again.
Thanks in advance!!
This could be a real tenant and this could also be the introduction to a scam.
The scam goes something like this. The prospective tenant says that they want to rent and then tells you that they`d like to send you a certified cheque for first and last. When you get the cheque it will usually have a little extra on it. They ask you to deposit the cheque and then "Wire" the money to a "cousin" who will buy them "furniture". The cheque clears and you send the money, all seems great. You then receive another certified cheque and are asked to forward money to the cousin again to help your new tenant. You deposit the cheque, it clears and you wire the money. Then after about 10 - 15 business days the bank gives you a call and lets you know that the certified cheques were forgeries and the you owe the bank the money. The "tenant" and "cousin" are nowhere to be found.
The scam works because landlords want to be helpful and quite often have high automatic approvals on cheque balances with their banks.
QUOTE (VHMay @ Apr 15 2008, 11:31 AM) Hi.
I am looking for any additional advice on renting to an international student and what kinds of due diligence or background checks I can look into for this individual. He has also informed me that he is currently working right now to make extra money before he goes back to school again.
Thanks in advance!!
Hi Vicki.
Ask if the student has relatives in Edmonton that are willing to sign the lease with them as a guarantor. Also request the post dated checks to come from the guarantor. They can make arrangements on their side as to how the relative is paid back. Pull the guarantors credit score and check their references as usual.
If they don`t have anyone to guarantee them, I suppose it can be a tossup. However, international students typically will have local bank accounts with larger amounts of cash for their living expenses. Ask to see a bank statement with their name on it. Compare it to their passport. Check their VISA to see if it expires before the end of anticipated lease. Rely heavy on your gut feel and ask for additional references. Also I learned a great tip from another investior the other day and it is to call the references while they are there (thx mortgageman). That way they don`t have time to prep them before you call. Ask the same questions you just asked the prospect and check for consistency. Consider asking for a higher security depost or 2-3 months rent in advance.
A good friend of mine bought a house near the University of Lethbridge and advertised it for rent. Within 3 weeks he had received a stack of cheques about 3" high, almost all for way more than the monthly rent.