For the landlords and property managers out there who don’t screen their tenants, get started now! Effective tenant screening helps you find the right tenant for your property. Here are some of the reasons why:
1. Tenant screening helps weed out the problematic tenants. By doing reference checks, you can check a prospective tenant’s reference history by calling their previous and current landlords and employers. Both, the landlords and employers, will each provide you with the field-specific answers you are looking for. Previous landlords may slip you information that will make you think twice before choosing a prospective tenant, such as violations, damages, and more. Employers can confirm the salary that was entered into the rental application. A rental application may provide you with information on the prospective tenant, but it needs to be verified to avoid any fraudulent acts.
2. Tenant screening also allows you to take a peek into a prospective tenant’s credit history. Run a credit report to find out what your prospective tenant’s payment behavior is like. A record of late payments is enough reason to reject a prospective tenant as there is a high chance that they will be late with rent payments as well.
3. Decrease your chances of being accused of discrimination. By using a consistent tenant screening process, you are using equal and fair criteria that apply to everyone you screen. This lessens the chance of favoring one person to the other.
Failing to enact a tenant screening is basically like buying a car without test driving it. Who knows? Maybe reality is much worse than the seller’s (tenant’s) claims. Tenants are salesmen trying to sell their way into a spot on your property. Don’t fall for the old salesmen tricks that prospective tenants use often in their plan to rent out a place. To get more information about that area contact us!
