Yup, it happened. I had a lender, whose rental properties we manage, call and ask me to tell a little, white lie to make a deal go through. I have always prided myself on being very BLACK AND WHITE when it comes to telling lies. I never thought there would even be a question.

SO, I WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED.

This owner owns 8 rental properties. We manage 4 of them. Those 4 pay us the rent, we take our fees and then write him a check. It creates a very good paper trail.

He is trying to get a renter in one of the OTHER properties a loan to buy a house. The lender, obviously, wants a VOR (verification of rent). They want it in one of two ways: 1) canceled checks or 2) a letter from a property manager. Turns out he doesn't have canceled checks.

So, he asks me to write a letter saying that she pays on time and pays $2400/mo. in rent and has rented for the last 24 months. So, I do. I write a letter that says, "We manage four properties for Mr. Owner. This is not one of them. However, Mr. Owner has assured me that the tenant has been there for 24 months and paid $2400/mo. on-time." Needless to say, that is not what they wanted.

So, they sent me their VOR form to fill out and fax back. It was very generic. I filled it out, the things I did know, and sent it back. Of course, it still wasn't enough info for them. So, they called. They wanted to verify over the phone the particulars. When they got to whether or not she had ever paid more than 30 days late, I told them that "I did not manage that property but only served as an advisor for him on that property."

The underwriter calls back, again, and wants to verify that we manage all 8 properties and that all 8 renters pay us and then we write one big check to Mr. Owner. "Sorry, can't verify that.", I say. "Well," she says, "that is what he said." (I really wanted to say, "No, that's what SHE said!" She probably doesn't watch THE OFFICE.)

LATER, I GET A CALL FROM MR. Owner: "John, do what you can, bro."

I did.