If you want to get the best tenant, this process has to start from tenant screening.
Start by asking the right questions first. Examples of the right questions to ask include:
- What is contained on their background check?
- How do I choose which tenant screening company to hire?
Tenant Background Checks
What is the goal of such an exercise? The goal is to obtain as much information on the tenant as you can. This is something which you can do on your own, or alternatively, you may decide to hire the services of a firm which specializes on tenant screening. There are many reasons why I would recommend hiring a firm instead of making this a Do-It-Yourself activity. This is a process which can be quite time consuming if you were to do it on your own.
Benefits to Using a Screening Company
You can be sure that a tenant screening firm will gain relatively easy access to financial records, and eviction as well as criminal history of the tenant you. This is information which you will definitely need in order to make the best decision. This sort of information is something you will struggle to come across hence consume too much of your time thus interfering with your decision making process.
Why You Have to Select the Right Tenant Screening Packages
You don’t need a lot of money to afford screening packages which provide you with the basic information. Some packages can provide you with this information at the cost of roughly $16.95, and the benefits are certainly worth this relatively small investment. The following is a list of the information you need to get your hands on to before making a decision as to whether to rent or deny them tenancy.
• Search involving the tenant’s bankruptcies, judgments & liens
• A full search touching on Nationwide Eviction History
• A full search regarding Nationwide Criminal & Sex Offender
• Making calls to all the Current & Previous Landlords
• Making calls to verify Employment details
You can always obtain valuable information through making calls to the current and previous landlord, which you wouldn’t find anywhere else, including on the credit report. The credit report would not contain noise complaints. It would be quite embarrassing for tenants reporting the new addition to police for organizing loud parties or getting involved in constant arguments and conflicts.
If you want to get more information regarding the condition of the property, you are better off talking with the tenant’s previous landlord instead of the current one. Issues you need to focus on include where there was damage which was beyond what is the result of normal wear and tear. Make inquiries on whether the tenant received the deposit back in full or not. If they live with animals, even if these are only dogs and cats, you should obtain relevant information. It is important to ask whether the tenant ever delayed paying rent, or made partial payments.
How Do I Select the Right Tenant Screening Company
These are a few things you need to look for when selecting a tenant screening company:
Price
Why should you hire a company which charges more than the application fee of $25.00 which you do to your tenants? Look for the right package pricing.
The Correct Solution
Work with companies whose services are geared more towards property managers and landlords and keep off from those which love corporate clients.
Customer Service
Try to make a call to the tenant screening company you want to hire and see if anyone will pick the call. When they pick up, or if they do, ask them a very simple question and evaluate the quality of their answer. RentPrep is a real tenant screening company, which is staffed with FCRA Screeners to handle all your calls professionally. If you don’t believe us, why don’t you try us (during business hours of course) by calling 1-888-877-8501?
Avoid Memberships
Memberships are not good. Try to look for “pay as you go” systems if you want to avoid paying monthly minimum or membership fees. You don’t have to pay a “sign up fee” either.
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