Checking Credit and Criminal Backgrounds
Knowing how to screen a tenant properly is something every landlord should understand, especially if you don’t have the support of a professional property management company in Austin. We’ve all heard tenant horror stories about renters who stop paying rent or cause significant damage to a property. Those situations can be costly and stressful, but many major issues can be avoided with a thorough tenant screening process from the start. Today, we’re sharing some of the methods we use as a property management company.
Take a look at your applicant’s credit report so you can get a good idea of how they manage money. You’re also looking for collections from past rental companies and evictions. We also do a criminal background check.
We like talking to current landlords so we can find out what kind of tenant an applicant has been. We always ask if they paid rent on time, took good care of the property, and gave proper notice about their intention to move out.
Landlord References
An income and employment verification is necessary to find out how much the applicant is earning and whether they can afford rent. According to this Long Beach property management company, you should make sure the employment information on the application matches up with what you find out when you call employers.
If you get an applicant who does not meet all the criteria, you can ask for a double deposit to mitigate the risk. For example, someone with an old credit problem might still make a good tenant. However, if an applicant fails to meet most of your criteria, you’re probably better off declining the application. You definitely want to say no to any tenants who have prior evictions or rental collections on the credit report. Bad rental histories are also good reasons to decline an applicant. It’s better to decline a tenant than to have problems down the road.
As a company, we accept about half the applications we get. You don’t lose a lot of marketing time waiting for the right tenant. It’s worth it. If you have any questions about tenant screening or anything pertaining to Austin property management, please contact us at AustinVestors.