We’ve all heard the stories, and some of us have lived them: tenants who don’t pay their rent, destroy property, or even use your rental unit as a meth lab. While these horror tales might seem like an anomaly, they’re not. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), only about 30% of renters pay their rent on time every month.
The same survey shows that only 33% of landlords report no problems whatsoever with late payments from their tenants – meaning there’s still a lot of work to be done.
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What is Tenant Screening?
Tenant screening is collecting information about a potential tenant to determine whether they are a good fit for your property. Tenant screening aims to ensure that you rent to a responsible person who can afford the rent, has no prior eviction history, and won’t cause problems with other tenants or neighbors.
While most landlords conduct some tenant screening, there are many things that landlords should look out for during this process.
How Does Tenant Screening Work?
Tenant screening is the process of collecting information about a potential tenant. Tenant screening center aims to help you make a more informed decision about whether to rent your property to them. This should be possible in more than one way, including:
- Interviewing your applicants in person or over the phone
- Checking references and previous landlords
- Pulling their credit report
- Reviewing criminal background checks
Why Do You Need to Screen Your Tenants?
The main reason you should screen your tenants is that it’s an excellent way to avoid problems. Screening helps you make better decisions, avoid lawsuits, and avoid bad tenants.
- Screening helps you avoid lawsuits from bad tenants by:
- Ensuring the tenant has enough income to pay rent on time and withstand late fees if something goes wrong with their financial situation. This can save you money in court costs if they don’t pay rent or damage the property. It also protects your investment if the tenant moves out early for financial reasons (e.g., job loss).
- Helping identify potential issues before they become significant problems like eviction cases or unpaid debt judgments against them—like unpaid student loans!
What Kind of Information do You Need to Screen Your Tenants?
When you screen tenants, you want to learn as much about the person as possible. There are a few things that you want to investigate while screening inhabitants.
Here’s what you need to know:
- A credit report will show late payments and other red flags, like bankruptcy or criminal record. You should also ask for permission to run a background check to see if there have been any domestic violence or sexual assault arrests. These won’t come up on a standard credit report but may be important information for potential renters who plan to live with others in the apartment complex.
- The tenant’s employment history is another essential piece of information that can help protect your investment from risk by providing timely rent payments and following all lease terms (e.g., no pets).
What Can You Find Out About Your Tenants?
If you are going to find a new tenant for your property, it’s crucial to conduct a thorough screening. If you don’t take the time to check their background thoroughly and thoroughly vet them, there’s no telling what might happen.
- You can find out where they’ve lived before or what other properties they’ve rented in the past. This will give you an idea of how responsible they are for paying rent on time and taking care of the property.
- You can also find out whether there were any issues with past landlords or neighbors that could be problematic if left unchecked in your home or property. Many other things can be uncovered through screening potential tenants too!
We provide the tools designed to screen your prospective tenant’s background before renting your property.
We provide the tools designed to screen your prospective tenant’s background before renting your property. With our tenant screening center service, you can find out if they have a criminal record, eviction history, and credit score. You can also find out if they have a history of paying their bills on time.
In addition to these things, we provide a detailed report that will tell you about any red flags regarding their past and present financial and legal records. We will give you information about what type of payment plan has been agreed upon for them to pay their rent so there are no surprises when it comes time for payments during the tenancy.
How do you access the public records of a potential tenant?
If you’re looking for public records, there are a few options. Some states require you to file a request with the court that has jurisdiction over your county and pay a fee. In addition, some counties have websites where you can search for records online. However, not all counties offer this service—if this is the case in yours, you may need to go into an in-person courthouse to get the records.
Another option is hiring a third-party tenant screening agency that specializes in gathering information about potential tenants on your behalf. These companies can help ensure that their applicants are truthful about their past histories and credit standing before they move into your properties so that you don’t have any problems later down the road!
Understanding the general framework of tenant screening can help property managers make informed decisions.
Tenant screening is the process of evaluating potential tenants for a rental property. It’s a way to ensure you are renting your property to the right people and a tool for deciding whether or not you should move forward with an application.
The screening process can help you understand more about each applicant, including their background and financial situation, so that you can make an informed decision about who will be living on your property.
Conclusion
There are many reasons why a property manager may want to screen their tenants. To protect yourself and your property, you should consider screening your tenants.
The best way to do this is by obtaining information about them from their previous landlords, employers, or other sources that can verify who they are and whether or not they’re reliable enough for tenancy at your property.
