After many many many prequal forms, the tenant pool seems to be getting worse not better.

I now have an applicant . Born outside the USA, but schooled here and has a newly issued US passport. Sent me a newly opened bank statement from a USA company showing $100K plus. he want to rent the place and pay 1 year rent in advance. Not allowed here if LL requires it, but if tenant suggests it OK (I will have him sign something to document that fact).

Only because the tenant pool is so bad i am really considering this tenant. My question is how do I ensure the money (1 years rent) I get from him is not phony (i.e. bank with catch fraud and reverse the deposit). I have suggested a certified check drawn from Bank of America?

Prepaid into escrow account you control, just like student rentals.

I have an iron clad lease and the tenant pays me with a local cashier's check. And until I negotiate the check (cash it), the will not get the keys or the permission or the rental.

Certified check drawn on a local bank. Major non-local bank would be second choice. If you’re concerned about fake check, accompany the tenant to the bank teller window and have them hand you the check.

However, are you sure you want to collect the full year at once upfront? Not sure about state law, but what if tenant turns out to be a bad choice…will you be able to evict and refund some of the rent?

We have taken some folks pre paid for a 6 month or year term.

When you do the lease make sure your term is for the years and the year amount not monthly. They are paying for the FULL year.

Second is you need an addendum. 45 days prior to lease end if your going to convert them to another term but they pay monthly that addendum needs to spell that out. The time for the addendum is now-- not when the lease is over.

You could meet at his/there bank and watch the withdrawal. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to bank at the same place and have it transferred into your acct. Wire transfer works here as well. No keys until funds are in your account.

It sounds like everybody is assuming it is legal money, if it comes from a bank.

If I had your concern, I would go talk to the branch manager of said bank, and ask them if that is true.

Ask them what would happen in your hypothetical scenario.

why are you worrying about legit money? Some of you get way to deep in the water here. Why would you?

Your taking on the roll of law enforcement-- YOUR JUST A LL.

Sounds more like Hennie Pennie not the 3 little pigs (your pig 3 with strong walls)

A certified bank check drawn on a major bank should be OK.

The fact they are newly a citizen simply means they plan to stay in the US, but to me is a good sign.

Do they have a JOB? If they went to school in the US, I assume you mean university? So, they should have a rental history in the US. Do their references check out? Did you run a credit report? Verify the job?

Customer service person at my local bank told me that even certified bank checks can be faked. I like the suggestion to go to the bank with the tenant and get the check from the teller.

If you do take him as a tenant, do you want all of that $ to increase your 2022 income when you file your 2022 taxes?

Did you ask him why he wants to pay a year in advance? Does he get a lump sum from somewhere?

I find an offer of a huge payment to be a huge red flag. Good tenants with enough income don't do that. The big chunk of cash is normally offered to tempt the landlord to not do proper screening.

Although with some exceptions: students who are getting grant money get the money once a semester and will pay rent for the whole semester at that time because that is when they have the money. Or perhaps someone who is getting an annuity of some sort.

He is new to the county..however went to school here. He has enough money in the bank (if true) to last well over a year. He says he is here to work on producing a documentary. When I google him, he does have the background in his home country.

Our immigrant tenants are the most responsible, frugal and hardworking of the lot.

It's almost January. That's when my tenant who pays for the year up front pays - this means I can recognize the rent in the correct year. It just happened to be when he moved in, so that works out.

Laura,

I have taken 6-12 months up front many times. Some offered it to beat the competition for the home. Some because they had little rental or job history. One used his Sign on/Moving bonus money. Another received a fat insurance claim check and wanted to use it wisely before her husband blew it on a motorcycle. Another got a year end bonus and wanted to not worry about the rent. His wife was ill and he knew he would be missing some work to care for her.

I wonder if this could be a cultural thing.

I write the time period of the lease as ONE SINGLE PERIOD OF TIME, DEC 1, 2022 ending Nov 30, 2023. NO REFUND IF THEY LEAVE EARLY.

I like the 2 check idea. You only pay tax on the money you DEPOSIT into your account, not the date of the check.

My favorite story is the couple who used their inheritance to pay 12 months up front. Found out they had 4 cats so I simply deducted the fees from their balance : 4 x $150 Animal Registration Fee ($600) plus 4 x $35 per animal for 9 months retroactive to the beginning of their lease = $1260, total $1860.

Like many liars they skipped out before they used up their money. It was free to them so they did not care.

When my best friend married a fellow from another country, his family came to America. They paid a year in advance to secure a place as they were not yet citizens and altho they had money, had no jobs yet. As a result they found it difficult to secure a place. They were stellar people, having met and known them for many years before they passed of old age.

Perhaps because this fellow is self-employed, he realizes the same as the persons I mentioned above.

In another vane, I have been sent certified checks from persons in the mail that were fake. I smelled a rat and took them to my bank but did not deposit. They investigated and it was fake. Same happened to another LL in a group we used to have. This person was coming from another state "so they said", but it was a fraud case, turned over to the police when the check arrived.

P.S. Tax wise I wouldn't want a year's worth of rent to hit in 2022 if you haven't planned for it.

take the money in postal money orders-- they never expire. Then deposit as time permits. You can get 1K, 1K and 900 without any doc's created. Again though it would be the purchaser who would get flagged not you.