Using Tenant Screening As a First Line of Defense

For those who have a residential property one of the best sources of income would be to rent it. Indeed it would be a good idea to look for tenants to rent your house. Apart from the fact that you would get enough money to cover maintenance and repairs, it would add to the income of your family. However one cannot just look for any kind of tenants to occupy the house as a bad person can lead to chaos in your property. Therefore there is the need to do an effective tenant background check and tenant credit check before renting out your room.

One of the things you should do well to undertake is a personal observation. Indeed the appearance of the tenant and the way he or she behaves would speak a lot about him or her. For example when he or she fidgets constantly, it could mean that there is something that is been hidden. There are some others who may be evading some questions during the tenant screening. This could mean that he may be feeling or there is a particular bad spot that is been hidden. However it is quite difficult to determine the real reason such behavior but it is always good to observe.

Another thing you need to do as a landlord during the tenant background check is that of an identity check. Some of the tools that could be used include valid photo identification. Apart from this you can choose to use things like social security cards and drivers licenses. It would be good to find out where the tenant was living during the tenant background check. You should also do well to check on the criminal records of the person to ensure you are dealing with a clean person. You can even choose to do a check on any drunken assault warrant which is very much unacceptable.

For tenant screening, there is the need to ensure that you do an effective financial screening. This would bring out any kind of inconsistencies in the persons finances. Even before the agreement is signed, it is vital to look out for the economic status of the client. For those who have a very bad history of evading debts, the chances are that they may not pay your rent. There are others who may also fall into repeated bad debts. These folks can delay their rent payments for weeks or even months. It is very important that every tenant you screen has a permanent job or work. His or her salary should be able to cover the rent that is being charged.

There is absolutely no doubt that these are very important issues when it comes to tenant screening for a landlord. If you cannot do them on your own, there are a number of companies with some on the internet to gather the information for you. You would just have to pay a small fee for their services.