Why You Shouldn’t Discount the Importance of Tenant Screening

Unless you do not care about one of your life’s most valuable asset, screening your prospective tenants is an important undertaking to make sure possible financial losses due to unpaid rent, damage, and court costs associated with evictions are prevented.

Tenant screening is not as simple and easy as it initially appears to be. Effective and thorough tenant evaluation has to be done using the right metrics. Otherwise, all the effort and monetary expenses incurred will just end up wasted. This is why many landlords avail tenant screening services from a reputable provider who has the authorized accesses to all data relevant in screening a prospective tenant.

Settling for a lousy tenant screening service means you’ll be investing your money and time and still not get the kind of protection your property and other tenants need.

How is tenant screening done?

First and foremost, setting up a clear rental application process is a necessary prerequisite on the part of the landlord. Then as soon as it’s ready, the tenant application and screening process can commence. Digital tenant referencing tool is now a thing among landlords and property owners who want to make the screening process online and secure.

Most tenant screening processes require prospective tenants to present a valid photo ID for identity verification purposes and a consent to be investigated and checked in terms of criminal background. Professional tenant screening services usually carry out applicant interviews as part of the initial screening. From there, they’ll then proceed to more in-depth screening phases. By the end of their task, tenant screening service providers are expected to provide a good tenant screening report for the landlords to base their decisions on.

What is a good tenant screening report?

A tenant report is considered good and complete if it entails critical information about the applicant’s rental history. At the least, it should contain the following data and their corresponding evaluation:

1.  Criminal Record – Criminal background outweighs the other factors that determine whether a prospective tenant deserves the door keys or not. In fact, a lot of states nowadays have already pushed the legality of obtaining interested tenants’ criminal backgrounds provided that such information will only be kept within authorized sectors including tenant screening service providers.  This report is an important gauge to ensure that the property and the entire neighborhood are safe from threats and dangers.
2.  Eviction History – Tenant screening service providers also look into the prospective tenant’s eviction history to ensure that the latter won’t give unnecessary headache not just to the   land lord but also to the rest of the community. Rental references are also helpful to weed out potential problems quickly.
3.  Credit History and Score – You know how property rental works. Just because the accepted tenant was able to give two months deposit and one month advance worth of down payment, it does not mean he’s automatically a responsible payer. Nothing can help better in determining the prospective tenant’s paying behavior than his credit records. It’s the best predictor you can base your decision on. That said, as much as possible, prioritize tenant applicants with high credit scores as they are more often than not interested in protecting their records and image. They are likely going to pay on time without leaving you the hassle.
4.  Sexual Offenses – Sexual offenses are an important part of the tenant’s criminal background that are usually hidden unless landlords are willing to dig deeper on the matter. Nonetheless, this is an equally important issue to look into. Discounting its importance can put the safety of your other tenants and/or neighbors at risk.   

To make sure you keep your focus in screening a tenant, here are some important points you should bear in mind:

Tenant Screening Must Be Made In Light of Correct Information

It is necessary that all the information indicated in the reports are correct as this will serve as the basis whether to accept a prospective tenant or not. Unfortunately, this limited access to right information is what has been stopping every landlord to carry out tenant screening on their own. And more often than not, they would end up hiring a tenant screening service provider instead.

Background checks are also necessary to protect your property and existing tenants from bad occupants. Moreover, they can protect you from discrimination charges. That is because background check reports from accredited issuers can already suffice as a valid justification for denying a tenant the right to rent.

Expand Your Options; Market Your Property Better

To have enough number of prospective tenants to choose from, it is absolutely essential to market your property effectively. You can also hire a property manager to man the marketing tasks better. A few of a property manager’s roles include setting the rent at an appropriate level, highlighting the strengths of the property, and advertising it through effective channels including social media.

Know What You Truly Want in a Tenant

You probably have thought of how you want your tenant to be like; entertain that thought. Know what you are looking for in an applicant before you even start the official screening. It could be in terms of how tidy or untidy that applicant is, what his lifestyle is like, how stable his income is, or etc. You may want to lay out a more specific criteria regarding this matter.  Should you plan to hire a property manager, make sure you communicate this part to him.

Begin Screening from First Contact

An essential part of the tenant screening process is checking the applicant’s income and rental history but guess what? Character and personality matter too. Hence, if they plan to pay your property a visit, make sure to grab that chance to observe what the applicant is like. Instinct works after all.

References Matter

As the saying goes, great employees make good tenants. If you want to make your tenant screening process more effective, do not stop carrying out reference checking. Through this, you’ll be able to know about the applicant’s previous tenting experience, income, and vibe.

HOWEVER…

Just because a prospective tenant can afford to pay the monthly rent, it does not mean he is the best candidate to entrust your property with. Be wise enough in deciding.