A property manager with six years of experience in the business is warning TikTokers against creating fake pay stubs to get approved for a new apartment.
While many TikTokers have posted about securing luxury apartments by using fake pay stubs or even explaining how to create the fake stubs, the property manager says it’s not worth the risk. Natalia (@natalialately) posted her own video saying that property managers like her can spot a fake pay stub or bank statement instantly.
“As property managers, we know when it’s fake,” Natalia says in the video. “We’re not dumb, and we can spot it within two seconds.”
Sometimes, though, property managers will approve applicants who use fake pay stubs or bank statements. Natalia says that if an apartment property’s numbers are low, they may take accept the applicants just to make money.
However, some applicants will get automatically denied if their fake documents are “too obvious,” she says. The TikToker shares how many applicants use the same template, which is a dead giveaway.
“So maybe switch it up and get creative,” Natalia says. “Just be very careful and pay attention to all of the information that you’re changing.”
@natalialately #apartment #propertymanagement #fakepaystubs #fakebankstatements #adulting #fy #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #renting #rent #lease ♬ original sound – Natalia
The TikToker notes that all of the totals on fake documents need to match up, and every transaction needs to equal the right amount. Some people who create fake pay stubs or bank documents don’t do their math correctly or even forget to do it, she says. Natalia warns that property managers do actually check the totals on those documents to make sure everything looks even.
At Natalia’s last job, she says the company began using a software called Snappt that alerted the property manager if an applicant’s documents had been altered in any way. She advises applicants to be aware of any properties that say they use the software because they will automatically flag their applications.
The TikToker adds that if applicants get caught forging documents, they’re “screwed.” Property managers may not call the police, but they are likely to call their sister properties to warn them of applicants with fake documents, she says.
Before the TikToker turned comments off on her video, several users thanked her for the tip but mostly called out the fact that tenants need to go as far as faking documents in order to get a place to stay. Some pointed out how egregious it was for landlords to ask tenants to earn three times their rent, period.
As one commenter put it, “It shouldn’t be this hard to get a home.”
The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via Instagram message.
