No one ever said finding the right tenants would be easy. However, renting to the right tenants should be easy. If you are a new landlord or real estate investor make sure you don’t make these common tenant screening mistakes when searching for the right person to rent to:
Cheaping Out
You have many options for screening tenants. If you are just starting out in the property management business, we understand why you might be tempted to save money and not pay for a complete tenant background check. What you don’t realize is that saving money now might cost you later.
Skipping the employment verification or eviction history reports could prove to be a huge mistake too, especially if your applicant can’t hold down a job or has a history of bad behavior. It is possible for a tenant to have had multiple evictions without incurring any record of criminal behavior.
Not screening ALL tenants
Perhaps you think tenant screenings should only be run on unscrupulous looking applicants, or complete strangers. Newsflash: Even your best friend’s mother’s uncle might have bad credit or zero integrity. Don’t skip the background check because someone was referred to you by a trusted source. Always screen everyone.
Having the wrong qualifications
You can’t screen applicants based on your personal preferences, such as by whether they have children or drive a big car. You also cannot just decide to only rent to students, or retirees, or someone who is single.
Your tenant screening requirements need to comply with all Fair Housing laws – so race, religion, nationality, familial status, disabilities and gender cannot be a consideration.
Visit ATS, Inc.’s homepage for more info about our tenant screening services !!
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