In today's world, crime affecting landlords directly is at an all time high, and landlords need to feel they can trust the person they are handing the keys over to. There has been a remarkable increase in tenant fraud, involving property damage, unpaid monthly payments, false credit reports, and criminal activity. Tenant screening is an essential endeavor to ensure the correct identity and record of the renter. Proper screening involves many different steps, which will be outlined below.
1. The tenant must provide adequate identification. Identification is a first round screening step which involves verifying the names, addresses, and social security numbers with the rental application. These details should match and be double-checked for accuracy. Proper identification includes drivers licenses, birth certificates, or a valid US passport.
2. The rental application is extremely important and should include these essential fields: Name, current and previous addresses, primary and secondary phone numbers, work and salary information, and bank accounts. It should also include information pertaining to the tenant's credit history and/or their ability to make the monthly payments based on salary and debt information. Furthermore, the application should contain two references who can be contacted for further screening and verification.
3. Obtaining a tenant background check is one of the most important actions a landlord can perform. These reports provide a detailed list of criminal activity, nationwide arrests, and sex offender status. They also detail the tenant's personal information which should be compared to the rental application for accuracy.
The background check will also provide information relating to previous addresses, employers, and alias information. As stated before, it is imperative to compare these reports with the rental application for accuracy. If these records do not match, there should be some concern and proper action should be taken.
4. The last important factor involved with tenant verification is a credit history report which should be included in the tenant background check. Credit history records will report late payments, bankruptcies, and will also give specific addresses of residence. Credit history information should play a major role in the decision-making process.
In most cases today, the landlord is not responsible for the fees associated with the background checks. Although the fees are usually minimal, if the money is a problem, it is customary to include these charges in the rental application fees. These fees should be paid upfront and the future tenant should be aware of what they are for and why they are being charged. If there is a problem, the landlord should consider this a first step in the screening process while reflecting on the character of this individual in question.
Nowadays, you cannot rely on intuition to properly screen a potential renter. There are numerous resources such as tenant background checks, as explained above, that you can access to effectively allow you to obtain all of the information you need. In today's world, good renters are hard to come by, and you need all of these tools to make an educated decision and to potentially save you thousands of dollars and hours of heartache. Tenant screening is not difficult, yet the reward is knowing that you and your family, as well as your property, are safe and secure and away from harm. - 14915
1. The tenant must provide adequate identification. Identification is a first round screening step which involves verifying the names, addresses, and social security numbers with the rental application. These details should match and be double-checked for accuracy. Proper identification includes drivers licenses, birth certificates, or a valid US passport.
2. The rental application is extremely important and should include these essential fields: Name, current and previous addresses, primary and secondary phone numbers, work and salary information, and bank accounts. It should also include information pertaining to the tenant's credit history and/or their ability to make the monthly payments based on salary and debt information. Furthermore, the application should contain two references who can be contacted for further screening and verification.
3. Obtaining a tenant background check is one of the most important actions a landlord can perform. These reports provide a detailed list of criminal activity, nationwide arrests, and sex offender status. They also detail the tenant's personal information which should be compared to the rental application for accuracy.
The background check will also provide information relating to previous addresses, employers, and alias information. As stated before, it is imperative to compare these reports with the rental application for accuracy. If these records do not match, there should be some concern and proper action should be taken.
4. The last important factor involved with tenant verification is a credit history report which should be included in the tenant background check. Credit history records will report late payments, bankruptcies, and will also give specific addresses of residence. Credit history information should play a major role in the decision-making process.
In most cases today, the landlord is not responsible for the fees associated with the background checks. Although the fees are usually minimal, if the money is a problem, it is customary to include these charges in the rental application fees. These fees should be paid upfront and the future tenant should be aware of what they are for and why they are being charged. If there is a problem, the landlord should consider this a first step in the screening process while reflecting on the character of this individual in question.
Nowadays, you cannot rely on intuition to properly screen a potential renter. There are numerous resources such as tenant background checks, as explained above, that you can access to effectively allow you to obtain all of the information you need. In today's world, good renters are hard to come by, and you need all of these tools to make an educated decision and to potentially save you thousands of dollars and hours of heartache. Tenant screening is not difficult, yet the reward is knowing that you and your family, as well as your property, are safe and secure and away from harm. - 14915
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Guard your family from tenant fraud. Get a tenant background check today! Avoid the loss of time, money, and property value. Find out how to prevent the common pitfalls with proper tenant screening.
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