Do you have a room for rent? Have you chosen to lease out an investment property? Are you in search of another person to split an apartment lease with? If so, it is critical to ensure that the person you will be allowing to reside in your home is responsible and stable. You will want to know if there are underlying issues with these people to not only ensure your safety, but the safety of your property, the safety of your neighborhood, and/ or the safety of your investment. Even tenants who are referred by family or friends can be a risk if you don't look into their history.

Tenant screening is the only way to protect yourself and do your best to ensure that you are choosing a tenant who is going to be financially reliable and safe in your home. When screening a tenant, you may choose to pull credit reports, criminal background checks, eviction reports and more. Here are the top three reasons why you should have your tenants pre-screened before you sign papers and hand over the keys.

1. Make (and save) money. If you are sharing an apartment, you need to know the person you choose to share this space with is going to follow through with their half of the pay. If you are renting out your house, you are doing so in order to make money off the investment that you have already made. If you unknowingly choose a tenant with a history of late or missed payments which results in poor credit, you have set yourself up to lose the money. By running a tenant screening report, you are protecting your investment and income by knowing your tenant's ability to pay.

2. There is no way to be able to look at someone and know who they really are. The most polite, nicest, and charismatic person could have a list of criminal activity a mile long. By performing tenant screening, you are able to see what your prospective tenant has done and is potentially capable of doing in the future. If you want to ensure the safety of your high-cost real estate property, your belongings, and the safety of your neighborhood, it is crucial to know the people attempting to reside inside. The background check performed during the tenant screening will give you helpful information to make a decision.

3. The eviction process can be a taxing and time consuming course of action. If the tenant that you deemed kind and responsible turned out to be a dreadful tenant and you have to go through the eviction process, you're in for a long ride. The best way to avoid having to deal with the stress of the eviction process is to skip the assumptions and educate yourself on your prospective tenant's eviction history. By performing a thorough tenant screening, you will be able to see the errors that your prospective tenant may repeat in the future.

Tenant screening will provide information as to how responsible a tenant is likely to be based off of their past history. No amount of screening can guarantee zero problem tenants; however, if you opt not to screen you open the door to many unpredictable outcomes. Tilt the odds of getting a responsible tenant in your favor by performing tenant screening before you sign the lease agreement and hand over the keys.

This entry was posted on August 12, 2015 at 6:00 PM and has received 4110 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.