In today's world, crime affecting landlords directly is at an all time high, and landlords need to feel they can trust the person they are handing the keys over to. There has been a remarkable increase in tenant fraud, involving property damage, unpaid monthly payments, false credit reports, and criminal activity. Tenant screening is an essential endeavor to ensure the correct identity and record of the renter. Proper screening involves many different steps, which will be outlined below.
1. Obtain proper identification from the tenant. Verification of the entries on the rental application is a first round screening attempt. Names, addresses, social security numbers (where applicable) should match and be correctly verified for accuracy. Proper identification would include drivers licenses, birth certificates, or a valid US passport.
2. A rental application is essential. It should include fields such as name, address, primary and secondary phone numbers, salary and work information, and bank accounts. The application should also ask questions relating to credit history, and their ability to make monthly rental payments based on their current salary and outstanding debts. The prospective tenant should also list two references who can be contacted for further screening and verification.
3. The most important aspect of tenant screening involves obtaining accurate tenant background checks. These reports will detail extensive information involving issues such as criminal activity and sex offender status. It will also outline the same information provided on the rental application which can be compared and evaluated. In addition, the check should include nationwide arrests and activity, not just in the state of application.
These checks will also display employment history, previous addresses, and alias information. As stated previously, these fields should be double-checked against the rental application to detect any possible errors or possible forgeries. This information could raise some red flags if certain fields are misrepresented or inaccurate.
4. The last essential factor involves obtaining a credit history. This information should be included in the tenant background check. The report should include late payments, bankruptcies, and specific addresses of residence. These reports should play a major part in the landlord's decision making process.
Landlords today are generally not responsible for the fees associated with the background checks. It is very common in the real estate market today to include these charges in the rental application fees. The tenant should be aware of the charges and what they are being used for. It is their right to know. If there are any complaints, then the landlord can make a responsible decision as to the character of the individual as this may also be used as further tenant screening.
Nowadays, you cannot rely on intuition to properly screen a potential renter. There are numerous resources such as tenant background checks, as explained above, that you can access to effectively allow you to obtain all of the information you need. In today's world, good renters are hard to come by, and you need all of these tools to make an educated decision and to potentially save you thousands of dollars and hours of heartache. Tenant screening is not difficult, yet the reward is knowing that you and your family, as well as your property, are safe and secure and away from harm.
1. Obtain proper identification from the tenant. Verification of the entries on the rental application is a first round screening attempt. Names, addresses, social security numbers (where applicable) should match and be correctly verified for accuracy. Proper identification would include drivers licenses, birth certificates, or a valid US passport.
2. A rental application is essential. It should include fields such as name, address, primary and secondary phone numbers, salary and work information, and bank accounts. The application should also ask questions relating to credit history, and their ability to make monthly rental payments based on their current salary and outstanding debts. The prospective tenant should also list two references who can be contacted for further screening and verification.
3. The most important aspect of tenant screening involves obtaining accurate tenant background checks. These reports will detail extensive information involving issues such as criminal activity and sex offender status. It will also outline the same information provided on the rental application which can be compared and evaluated. In addition, the check should include nationwide arrests and activity, not just in the state of application.
These checks will also display employment history, previous addresses, and alias information. As stated previously, these fields should be double-checked against the rental application to detect any possible errors or possible forgeries. This information could raise some red flags if certain fields are misrepresented or inaccurate.
4. The last essential factor involves obtaining a credit history. This information should be included in the tenant background check. The report should include late payments, bankruptcies, and specific addresses of residence. These reports should play a major part in the landlord's decision making process.
Landlords today are generally not responsible for the fees associated with the background checks. It is very common in the real estate market today to include these charges in the rental application fees. The tenant should be aware of the charges and what they are being used for. It is their right to know. If there are any complaints, then the landlord can make a responsible decision as to the character of the individual as this may also be used as further tenant screening.
Nowadays, you cannot rely on intuition to properly screen a potential renter. There are numerous resources such as tenant background checks, as explained above, that you can access to effectively allow you to obtain all of the information you need. In today's world, good renters are hard to come by, and you need all of these tools to make an educated decision and to potentially save you thousands of dollars and hours of heartache. Tenant screening is not difficult, yet the reward is knowing that you and your family, as well as your property, are safe and secure and away from harm.
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Protect your family from tenant fraud. Get a tenant background check today! Avoid the loss of time, money, and property value. Determine out how to prevent the common pitfalls with proper tenant screening.
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