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Once you are done building a quality apartment, you’ll probably think to yourself, “I’m done with all the hustle and bustle.” However, another challenging task lies ahead of you: filling your space with the right tenants.
Not many people know how to screen a tenant. That is why most landlords and landladies end up leasing and renting their houses to individuals and companies that are always behind on rent.
Tenant screening is vital, especially if you are looking to protect your investment and attain good returns from your premises.
If you have been pondering how you will ensure you rent your rental unit to the right occupant, consider yourself lucky. Get on board, for we have brought with us the best tenant screening guide to help you find the renters you are looking for.
The Process of Escaping the Bad Tenant
Picking the appropriate tenant cannot be done blindingly or just by looking at someone. It is a business decision that requires expert intervention.
It might require doing background checks for criminal offenses, looking into credit scores, affirming employment, validating income, and assessing a person’s rental history.
To avoid renting your premises to a problematic tenant, consider following the following steps:
Lookup Potential Clientele Before the Application
Before you hand out an application for your apartment rentals, it is wise to look for specific details. If you suspect a potential tenant might possess a behavior you don’t like, or have been involved in some bad practices, look into that before you get to the part where they fill out an application.
For instance, if you prefer not to take in tenants with pets, query if they are thinking of bringing a pet into the premises. A felony background check might also save you a lot of trouble.
You can even mention to the client that you perform background checks before taking in a tenant, as that might scare away bad tenants.
Social media can play a huge role in helping you find insightful information about an applicant.
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Have Some Questions With You
When screening tenants, there are certain areas that you should not miss. These include income level, criminal history, credit scores, and a person’s tenant history. To capture these areas, you will need to have a set of questions.
You will also need to know if anyone else will live with the applicant. If there are co-applicants, take time to learn more about them.
Check the Credit Score
Through a credit report, it is possible to know if a tenant will pay rent on time. If you discover that this person always pays their bills late, then you should not expect them to pay their dues on time.
If you decide to allow them into your premises, do not be surprised when they tell you to wait for a week or two when you go to collect rent.
Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion offer quality credit reports that you can rely on. You must, however, be accredited to pull another person’s credit data. That is according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Felony Checks
Felony background checks are as necessary as credit checks. By looking into federal and state criminal records, it is possible to know if a person has ever been convicted of a felony.
The information you get from the checks will help you learn more about the person you are bringing into the property.
If you are not careful, you might end up welcoming a terrorist or sexual offender into your rental unit. You should, however, try to dig deeper into the situation in case you discover negative results. Some people are convicted for acts they are not guilty of.
Verify Paychecks
For a person to pay rent, they have to possess a source of income. That is, of course, unless someone is paying rent for them. Therefore, you have to investigate the type of job an individual does before accepting their application.
If you check their income and feel that they cannot afford to pay rent, you might want to enquire how they plan on doing it. Talking to a current employer should help you gather the info you need.
Dial Their Previous Landlords
If you get an applicant’s information about where they were residing before, you should talk to their previous landlords to find out their renting history.
You will want to enquire about their last rent if the payment was always made on time, and their behavior while at the residence.
If one of the landlords mentions that they were a concern at a certain point, you should find out more. If it is a matter to do with rent, you will want to know if they had issues with work.
Interview and Decide Whether to Accept or Reject Applications
After following all these tenant screening tips, the final step will be to assess if the potential occupant qualifies to be your tenant. During the interview, you should go through every document together as you discuss each finding. That will help clarify any information that is unclear.
With the data, you have gathered and the discussion you have had with the individual, it should be easy to decide if you want to have the person as a tenant or not.
Observing Fair Housing Laws as You Screen a Tenant
When you decide to deny a candidate the chance to rent your property, you must ensure it is right by the law. Some of the legal reasons for denial include:
- Inadequate income
- Poor credit scores
- Criminal history
- Negative feedback from previous landlords
Seeking professional tenant screening services will help you avoid violating any housing law. All you have to do is find an established firm which offers these services.
Where Do I Obtain the Best Tenant Screening Services?
If you do decide to invest your hard-earned cash on a property, do not hesitate to seek help from firms that offer tenant screening services. You will gain expert knowledge on how to screen a tenant, and these firms will ensure they link you to the right occupants.
That way, you will escape receiving late payments, property abuse, and even going through the process of tenant eviction.
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