It is unfortunate to say that we still live in the world where people lie and steal identities.  People often steal identities to hide their criminal history.  In addition, the rise of social media and the internet has made it easier for criminals to gather personal information.

Here are just some of the reasons why someone would want to use someone else’s identity:

• They might have terrible credit that’s preventing them from renting 
• They might be a convicted felon trying to hide their past  
• They could a major or a petty thief

The best way to protect you from getting one of these tenants is to ask for a driver’s license or state ID and to make a photo copy.  Screening tenants beforehand can dramatically decrease the likelihood of needing to evict tenants; significantly reducing your costs.  This is the standard policy of LLC Property Management.

When the tenant is approved, and the lease is being signed, we ask one more time to see their ID just to make sure there are not any discrepancies.  In this age, there are many tenants moving out of state.  Because they are not in town yet, they will frequently send a picture of their ID to us via I-Phone. It’s difficult to determine from this photo that it’s really them on the ID. That’s why we check their ID at the lease signing.  If something doesn't match, we cannot move forward.

All of these are acceptable forms of identification:
Driver’s License
State ID
Passport
Military ID
Real At minimum, a real photo of the person applying for an apartment.

When checking the ID, all the details have to match.  If there is even the tiniest discrepancy, it is best to stop and question that or get better information. In my experience, when it comes to leasing, it always best to go with a gut feeling when deciding to sign that lease.