Tenant screening is an important tool for property owners and managers to help them decide whether or not to rent a unit to a particular person. It is important to use common sense and heed the warning signs, but these are not always enough to avoid problems for tenants. Information like criminal records, criminal records, and occupation verification are all part of a good tenant check, which can greatly reduce the likelihood of landlord problems later on property maintenance services in Crown Point, IN.
For a landlord to be able to get the full picture, it is helpful to obtain information from a variety of sources. An essential part of tenant screening is preliminary home information. A landlord will want to see if a potential tenant has ever been evicted before. A single eviction can be attributed to mitigating circumstances, but multiple evictions are a strong warning sign. However, most problem tenants do not go to court for eviction, so reports of problem renters, collected by a reputable tenant screening agency, will help complete the picture.
Criminal records are another essential piece of information. The ability to see past criminal history is a must when evaluating a potential tenant. Many tenant screening agencies have nationwide criminal searches, which can be of great value. Often, simply having each applicant sign a criminal record search permit will scare those for whom this would be a problem.
It is also important to establish the financial responsibility of a tenant. Proper tenant selection will include a snapshot of a person’s financial history, debt and, of course, employment. The purpose of this part of the screening is to verify that a person is able to consistently pay the full rent and do so on time. A credit report and current pay stub are things a landlord would like to get, and a call to the person’s employer is also well advised.
In general, the more active a screening agency has been, the more reliable it is. Landlords pay a fee for using these services, but many will pass this fee on to the tenant as a non-refundable application fee. This actually serves the dual purpose of reducing a landlord’s costs, as well as filtering out serious renters from those who are one-time buyers.
