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​If you are in the middle of a tenant screening process and suddenly a prospective renter forgets the number of his last landlord, this should be taken into consideration. Something must be wrong, if the tenant is trying to keep you away from the owner of his/her last residence. One phone call will give you vital information and you may find out what are the potential dangers with this person, what to look for and so on. The ex landlord will probably tell you important issues such as whether the rent was paid on time, were the neighbours happy with this person or he was constantly organizing loud parties. Furthermore, you can get useful info about the maintenance of the house. Sometimes renters refer to professionals such as end of lease cleaning team in Melbourne to get the property in flawless condition.  Most lessors have no problems sharing this information as they know sooner or later may need the same favour. So, there is a significant chance that the previous landlord will tell the most important things about the person- both his positive and negative sides. However, before making the call, you should prepare a few things, so you will be not fooled and will expose a friend of the potential tenant, who is pretending to be a landlord.

Here is what you need in advance before  contacting the ex lessor:

•     signed consent
•     the name of the person or the property management company
•     phone number or email
•     address

A proper candidate will not have anything to hide so he/she will provide you with this information right away. Knowing these details you will be able to perform a residence verification and learn some more little things such as the actual reason for living, how long the stay was and the rent amount. Remember that more information will help you to make the difference between a friend and a real landlord. A friend of the prospective tenant may be not that well prepared and informed and as soon as you start asking questions, he/ she will get perplexed.

So, at this point you are ready with the needed information and it is about time to make the phone call. What happens if you don't get the chance to reach the landlord from the first time? Now what- should I ring one more time or to wait the other person to call me first. I am in the rental business for more than 10 years and my experience showed me that 3 calls with each one with a short but informative message within 24 hours is the best strategy. If you don't get answered, there is no point wasting your time. Even if the landlord is away, when he notices the messages, he should call in case he is real and there is nothing to hide.

To summarize we should say that contacting other landlords is crucial and the info you will get could make you change your mind or confirm your impression to sign with somebody.