The Importance Of Performing A Tenant Credit And Background Check

By Shirley Johnson


When it comes to your rental property, you want to ensure that you rent to the best possible tenants and that there will be no major problems or issues down the road. Some property owners simply do not understand the importance of performing a tenant credit and background check or are unsure how to go about the process. This vital step is needed, however, if you want to ensure the integrity of the person you rent to.

Renting to strangers is a risk property owners take when it comes to renting out their properties. You may have a potential renter fill out an application and provide you with proof a job income but there are still risks. This is why you want to check their creditworthiness as well during this process. A credit check will let you know how responsible your potential renter is when it comes to paying their bills and whether they pay their rent on time.

The potential renter may have the money to pay you rent, but you want deeper insight into whether they are responsible with that money and will pay you the rent on time every time. They may have prior evictions on their credit report for nonpayment of rent and you need to know this. Also, they may have other financial obligations or derogatory marks on their credit report such as bankruptcies or repossessions. This will give you some indication as to their financial responsibilities and how they own up to them.

By doing this screening, it will give you some idea of what type of potential tenant they will be and help you to make a more informed decision during the application process. While a credit report is not always a good judge of character it will let you know about potential problems they have financially whether they were at fault or not. You must make the final decision based on the information available to you and any explanations provided by the potential renter.

A background check will give you some idea about a person's legal history and whether or not they have been in trouble with the law. This check will let you know if they have a criminal background or other adverse legal histories such as an arrest record or convictions. This general report will give you some idea of the nature of the potential renter.

If they have not had any legal troubles or have a clear background this will give you some basis as to their character and general makeup as a person. It does not mean, however, that there is not a potential for a problem to occur, it just tells you whether the person has had trouble in their past with the law or not.

When it comes to finding and renting to potential tenants there is always a risk factor involved. You just don't know a person until you have dealt with them for some time. Making an informed decision by performing background and credit checks will give you a good business advantage in knowing whether you want to make the decision for or against a potential renter.

If the whole process of taking applications and screening potential renters seems like an overwhelming task, there are property management companies that you can hire to do all this for you. The cost is minimal compared to saving you the stress and time of doing all this yourself. There are property management experts waiting to help you fill your properties with the best candidates possible.




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