Over the past few months I've had applicants play the old phone "switcheroo." Last night I received a text to my ad (names have been changed to protect the scofflaws)

"Hi, this is Joe and would like to apply to your apartment for rent"

Me: (send cut and paste greeting and link to prequal)

15 minutes later prequal comes back and gets dumped into the spreadsheet. Name for the applicant is "Martha" with "Joe Bag-O-Donuts" as a co-applicant. Martha states she has a CS over 600, no animals, no smoking, sufficient income.

I text the original number back.

Me: "Hi is this number for Joe or Martha?"

Reply back: "Martha."

Me: "Have Joe text here for his link to the prequal"

I quickly look up Joe Bag-O-Donuts and he has a habit of stealing from local stores. I show the photo of Joe Bag-O-Donuts to DH and he says "that's the guy who wanders aimlessly through town."

DH ought to know as he is over there every day rehabbing our projects.

"Joe" never responded to the prequal.

This isn't the first time that I've had an applicant try to "slide" through on someone else's phone number or hoping I wouldn't check their significant other. A few months back another applicant claimed that "we just share each other's phone, tee hee!"

I've had something similar happen.

I only require one to fill out a prescreen. If they pass the prescreen, I will show the home. If they want to apply, then they have to each apply separately. At that time, I will take an application fee from each application and then see if they qualify.

In this particular case, why didn't you just send them an application as they requested and go from there with application fee in hand?

Why do you require each one to fill out a prescreen separately? My prescreen ask for the name of any other adults.

Map is in NY and the application fees do not cover the costs involved, if I remember correctly.

On my last round I had a prospect send in a filled application. The name seemed familiar. I had gotten an app from her last time I had a place open.

She left some things off this time, like her maiden name. She also didn't include the place that she was renting from last time. Less than a year ago. But she claimed to be at the new place two years.

Not a phone swap as much as a name disparity.

Zero, exactly. New York State does not look fondly on charging applicants application or background screening charges when you know darn well that they are not qualified just to keep the fees.

The reason I request a pre-qualifier from everyone 18 and over is because if one of them passes the pre-qualifier I have to do the bother of setting up a tour--a big time waster when one of the co-applicants is disqualified right off the bat.

The actual application process comes after the tour. Here's the trend I've noticed: my best tenants come from professionally managed apartment complexes, not private housing providers and all adult co-applicants have a credit score between 640 and 720.

Jason, the pre-qualifier asks them to list names and ages of all residents. When I see there are additional adults over age 18 I ask the original responder to have the other adults text in for their link

...easy peasy.

Without basic information about ALL adults who will inhabit the unit, I will not go forward with the tour.