Tenant screening is a common practice in which landlords check an individual's credit, employment and rental history to make sure they are financially capable of paying their rent and not a threat to the property. But how can a landlord find out whether they are reliable? Many landlords will use vacancy forms that ask tenants to fill out information about themselves before applying for an apartment. This, however, can lead to disappointment.
In the event that any of the answers given during screening reveal signs of a problem with your tenant (for example, that they have been evicted from a previous apartment), it is not recommended to proceed with renting your property out to such a person. While it may seem unfair, it is better to risk losing money than ever letting your property fall into disrepair.
Rental application forms may be used by a landlord to discover details about a potential tenant. Ideally, an application form will have the following information: name, address, telephone number and email address, as well as the names of all potential co-signers. It is useful to thoroughly review and research all information on a rental application before renting to this person.
A rental application form will often ask questions such as "How long have you lived at your current address?" and "Have you ever been evicted from an apartment?" Answering negatively to these questions may be a red flag that something is wrong with the potential tenant. However, it is important to keep in mind that there are many reasons why a person might have had to move or get evicted from their previous address. Whether the answer given is truthful or not, it is still important to remember that no rental application form is 100% accurate, and the landlord is expected to take every answer with a grain of salt.
Information about a potential tenant can be used to check their credit score, debts and current income situation. Credit reports are available for free or relatively inexpensively from many different companies such as Equifax, TransUnion, Experian, and PenFed.
Credit reports show a person's credit history. With this in mind, it is important to look at the information provided and to consider whether anything on the report should be cause for concern. Credit reports are not perfect - just as no application form is completely accurate, so too with an individual's credit score. However, it is still useful to know what information will be shared with a prospective landlord.
Debt, in particular, is hard to factor in with applicants. This is because what was once a guaranteed loan can quickly result in a huge debt if something goes wrong. However, if an applicant states that they have never been evicted or that their eviction process was scrupulous, it will be difficult to find anything wrong with their situation.
Many landlords will often want to get an idea of how much they can expect to earn from a given property. To do this, they will look at the individual's rent history. This can be found by looking at their previous landlord's statements. As with income and rent, a landlord will also want to look at the information listed regarding a tenant's amount of debt and paystubs.
Information about the individual's past history with roommates is also valuable for landlords. This is because they might get along with their roommates in one apartment, but not in another. It is important to get an idea of how well an applicant will interact with other people that they live around when they take over the property.
Some landlords will review rental applications, or "interview" their potential tenants. This is to see how well the potential tenant and landlord get along with each other during the interview. A good interviewer will make you feel comfortable and keep an eye on your reaction in case you want to change your answer.
Because a more personal approach can be important, it is always possible for the landlord to meet with the potential tenant in person during an interview. Many landlords will have their prospective tenants write down personal information such as their government ID number and birthday during this time. This information can be used later on by the landlord to verify this individual's identity.
