Tenant Screening

The alarm clock goes off, and it’s a beautiful morning…but you don’t want to get out of bed. You’re chasing a tenant for delinquent rent. Looking back, you remember that you had a pretty good feeling about this tenant in the interview, so what happened? What information could you have gathered, or had them provide, that could have avoided this situation? A few of the best practices for tenant screening can help us:

Get the Real Identification Information – By far, the best ID is a state driver’s license. If they drove into the parking lot, don’t listen to excuses. Expired driver’s licenses are a red flag. It could be from a previous state of residence, and they don’t want you to know their current information.

Get Plenty of Contact Information – Whether they call Mom on Mother’s Day or not, you want her phone number and address. She’ll always know how to reach them, even if they skip on your rent. Getting employers, friends and family contact information is proper and important. When you can, get cell phone numbers, because they change them less often than home phones. Be a C.S.I. detective and you might catch them through cell phone GPS!

Employment & rental references – Another item on your rental application is employment. Get past employers’ names and contact information. Verify job income. If the employer doesn’t want to give you an income figure, give them a range to which they can agree. If self-employed, get their tax return. Really check out rental references. If they left holes in the walls and floor stains in a previous apartment, you want to know.

Credit and background checks – A credit check is the next step, as you need to know if they pay their bills, or if there is a history of bankruptcy or suits for unpaid rents. If they have a criminal record, you may want to think twice about renting to a tenant who’s been jailed for apartment burglary.

Cover Yourself With Adequate Deposits & Payment Security – Just because the college student is likable, it doesn’t mean they’ll be able to consistently pay rent. You may need to require a parent or other relative to sign as a guarantor for rent payments. If Dad won’t sign, you don’t need to adopt them.

Peace of mind in getting your rent and a vacated unit in good condition lies in deposits. Many states have laws about how much you can require in rental, security and pet deposits, so check yours. Within the law, get deposits in amounts that will allow you to sleep at night. If first and last month rent seems necessary, get it without a second thought. If they have a dog you’d call Godzilla, maybe some extra pet deposit might be wise.

When that alarm goes off in the morning, you want to jump out of bed ready to have a great day. Doing tenant screening the right way can help make that happen.