The Importance of Screening a Tenant

To screen or not to screen… that is the question!
If you were hiring someone to watch your children, you’d likely screen them – but is it really necessary to screen potential tenants for your rental property?

In short, yes! Now let us elaborate:

Screening a tenant can provide you with a potential tenant’s credit score, criminal background, employment verification, eviction records, and more.

Each component provides you with different types of information and insight that are all necessary to make an informed decision regarding who you’d like to lease your property to.

Here’s what the information can tell you…

• Employment Verification:
  Confirming your potential tenant’s employment will not only reveal that they’ve told the truth on their application, but will confirm that they have a steady income and are able to pay the rent each month.
• Credit Report:
  In addition to employment verification, a credit report can also provide you with the information you need to determine a person’s ability to pay the rent each month. It can also help to give you an idea of the person’s debt to income ratio and financial responsibility.
• Criminal Background Check:
  A criminal background check will provide you with information that’s necessary to judge a person’s character or lifestyle. People can absolutely change for the better over time, but do you want the person that’s renting your home to have a long track record of violence and vandalism or do you want the candidate with the squeaky clean record?
• Eviction Records:
  Don’t know much about your potential tenant? Why not see what other landlords’ experiences have been like with this tenant. Have any of them filed eviction complaints in the past? Even if there are no public records, you’ll want to speak with past landlords. Be sure to ask your tenant for references within their application.

Unlike other wholesaling groups, we find properties that we resell to investors at discount prices, while also connecting them with private financing. We also coordinate with rehab and management companies we’ve worked with for years, at no extra charge. And if you need help, just contact us!

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