Not everyone follows the golden rule of honesty in their rent application. For some reason or another, some renters lie in their applications. Although we choose to believe they lie to get a place to live successfully, you can’t overlook the risks inherent in fake applications.
As property managers, we screen landlord references every day. While some are beautifully drafted as a testament to a tenant’s character, others are plain lies written by a fake landlord. It’s difficult to distinguish between a fake and an authentic landlord reference, but it’s not impossible.