Before any landlord leasing property ever considers signing a lease agreement with a prospective tenant, it is vital that the landlord gets a signed rental application from each adult who will be included on the lease agreement. With this information, the landlord now has the ability to conduct an investigation known as a tenant screeningor background check. This application should request key background information including key questions about the potential renter’s past such as the past addresses for the past 5 years, employment record, and criminal history. One of the most important uses of this application is that it provides the landlord with the basic data from which he or she can conduct an effective background screening on the applicant(s). Nealy all tenant screening services require that you have a valid social security number and many require a current or past address as well.
The data your applicant provides for the purpose of obtaining a lease on your property lies the groundwork for you to be able to harvest an enormous amount of information about your prospective tenant. I would highly recommend that you use a good quality service which provides you with nationwide data. Avoid using tenant screeningservices which only provide you with state only data. It is surprising how many of the big name online background check services are severely lacking the vital information that are imperative for you to have as a property manager. It is absolutely necessary that you obtain a nationwide history of any criminal records, court judgments, and previous addresses.
Once you receive the results of the background check, you want to look for any discrepancies contained within the report that differs from what your had applicant stated. For example, if your background check report shows many different previous addresses reported by your applicant, then you most likely have a major issue. Also, if you find previous court judgments, there are usually major issues. Unlawful detainers are especially troublesome because it means that in the past, your rental applicant had to be forcibly removed from a property with a previous landlord. There are plenty of tenants to chose from who are honest and pay their bills on time with a clean record. Don’t gamble your future with people who have a shady past.
Alexis Hughes has worked in the real estate industry for the past 23 years. For the past 14 years, she has been employed as a property manager and currently serves as the president of the local Property Manager’s Rental Association. Tenant ScreeningBackground Check at tenantscreeningbackgroundcheck.com is an excellent resource that I recommend for conducing effectivetenant screening.
This article is from here: http://tinyurl.com/tenant-screening-help-1
I’ve never used the above referenced tenant screening provider. However, I do list providers on my website through the links found in the header and by Help for Landlords by State. I am currently very satisfied with the tenant screening service I receive from the American Apartment Owners Association.
Help for Landlords 