[indiejade]

For example, let's take the scammer in New York City whom we will call L. V. At the end of 2006, he went on a two-month buying spree in which he purchased ten investment properties in south Queens by obtaining 20 mortgages from ten different banks putting little or nothing down on any of the purchases. Apparently none of the banks was interested in checking his other purchases to see whether he had the means to handle 20 mortgages. Of course, L. V. never told the banks that he had no intention of making the payments on any of these loans.

One by one, L. V. defaulted on the loans. By the end of 2007, eight of the homes were in foreclosure. Undeterred, he continued to collect rent from tenants whom he had put into these two-family homes. When the article about his scam appeared in a December 2009 New York Daily News article, he was trying to evict tenants from two of the properties for non-payment of rent even as foreclosure actions against him were proceeding.

We need some sort of system to deter Evil landlords, such as this one. It is such a one-way street. Landlords / Property Management Companies (PMCs) almost always require credit checks, background checks, first month + last month + deposit + "fees" to move into a place they're not even getting any ownership on, just for a freaking lease!

Why shouldn't renters be able to check out their landlords, or PMCs similarly? Not just BBB stuff, but seriously comprehensive and detailed records of assets owned for passive income.

Real estate is SUCH a screwed up industry.