Tenant Screening: Here’s a Brief Landlord Guide

It’s a big challenge for you to find the right tenant for your rental property. Your house is a major asset and you don’t want to risk it by renting it out to people who have been involved in criminal or illegal activities.

For this purpose, it’s essential to screen the potential tenants before renting out your property. However, not many rental property owners screen their tenants which leads to various problems down the line.

Why You Should Run a Background Check on Potential Tenants

Tenant screening provides you an insight into their eviction records, criminal background, and credit record. It helps you decide whether or not it’s safe to rent out your property to a potential tenant.

Statistics suggest that renters who have been evicted once from a property are 3 times more likely to get an eviction again. Also, if an applicant has been involved in criminal activities in the past, you may not feel safe renting them your house.

With the help of the screening information, you can make the right decision and choose a renter that possesses the characteristics of a good tenant.

Why You Should Keep Under Qualified Renters at Bay

If you sign a contract without checking the background of potential renters, you may end up risking your investment. Here’s how:

• The renters may damage your property
• They may delay the rent payment without any valid reason
• They may not clear utility bills in time
• They may try to take over the property through illegal means
• You may need to pay legal charges to evict the tenants

How to Screen Potential Tenants

Now that you know why it’s important to check the background of potential tenants, here’s how you can carry out the task:

Collect Information from the Tenant

When you advertise your property, ask the interested tenants to fill out an application form. You should also interview the applicants in person. You can ask them about the reasons why they’re interested in renting the property as well as their interests and hobbies to understand their lifestyle.

Look for Any Warning Signs

Look for any warning signs while interviewing the potential tenants. If they try to hide some information or act suspicious, you may need to reconsider your decision to renting them your property.

Confirm the Identity Online

Today, the internet gives you access to any information you need. It also helps you verify the identity of any potential tenants. Search the name, residence, and employment information of your applicants via different search engines and compare the result with the application.

Obtain Credit Reports

A credit report informs you of the financial reliability of potential tenants. It provides valuable information on lawsuits, bankruptcies, foreclosures, and evictions. It depicts whether the applicant is financially stable to afford the property rent in the long run.

Contact the References

Always ask the applicants to provide contact information of 2-3 personal references. Their friends and family know them for long, which is why they can give you some useful information that will help you decide whether you should consider their application or reject it.

Contact Their Current Employer

Tenants may lie about their salary and income for the approval of their rental application. You should contact their current employer to gather their employment information. You can ask them about the length of time the employee has been working with them and their current wages.

Get in Touch with the Applicant’s Previous Landlords

The previous landlords of potential tenants can inform you about the person as a tenant. They can tell you if the person pays the rent on time, takes care of the rented property, or disturbs the neighbors with their annoying behavior.

Tenant screening provides you with an opportunity to dig into the track record of your potential tenants and make the right choice based on this information. Beycome facilitates you to rent out your house without the assistance of an estate agent and thereby, saves costs.