Straight Up Chicago Investor Episode 416: Mark Ainley Explains Three Red Flags When Screening Tenants
Dec 2, 2025
A practical rundown of three tenant-screening red flags landlords should watch for. They unpack tactics renters use to hide past landlord problems and how to verify contact info. The conversation covers fake job offer and income verifications and tools to expose fraud. They also examine risks of gig-economy income and sensible mitigations like co-signers and deposit limits.
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Verify 'Living With A Friend' Claims
- Do verify claims of "living with a friend" by cross-checking addresses and phone numbers on credit reports and services like Forewarn or TruePeopleSearch.
- Mark Ainley shows this uncovers applicants who list many addresses or give unrelated phone numbers to avoid landlord checks.
Don't Rely On Offer Letters Alone
- Avoid approving tenants solely on offer letters; require additional verification like HR confirmation, pay stubs, or waiting for first payroll.
- Tom Shellcross and Mark note scammers fabricate polished offer letters and fake HR contacts so push for verifiable proof.
Feed Wrong Details To Test References
- Use verification tricks when contacting references: feed incorrect facts to see if the referee corroborates or hesitates.
- Tom Shellcross credits Jeff Weinberg's tactic of giving wrong start dates or salaries to catch lies.