What are tenant screening services used for and why should landlords consider them as a tool? These are bigger questions than they appear, and we’re happy to go over the benefits. Tenant screening is quite possibly the best way to protect your property, your business, and your peace of mind. You can learn a great deal from tenant credit reports, background checks, eviction history, and rental history. Even a simple pass/fail credit check can give you useful information when it comes to making a decision. Most importantly, screenings allow you to prioritize the information you need to find the right match for your property.
Your Tenant Screening Options
Let’s start with the basics — the different types of tenant screening services — and then we can get into the benefits of each one. There are many different reports you can choose to receive for varying price points, which means you can tailor your reports to suit your needs. For housing in lower income areas, you may just be interested in whether or not someone has a history of paying rent and no evictions within a certain time frame. For more high-end properties, you may want a full report with all the details. These reports can come in the following forms: criminal background check, eviction history, credit score card (pass/fail), full credit report, or any combination of these in a package. Most of these are available to property managers, though landlords have the option of obtaining a national data check, which is a collection of basic information, or a full package that includes more than one report.
At Tenant Screening Center, Inc., we recommend our RentalConnect program for landlords. RentalConnect offers property owners and landlords a great alternative to the expense of full tenant screening. This service requires no on-site visit, sign-up, or membership fees, making it extra convenient. The service fee is paid by the applicant. Available 24/7, RentalConnect is fast, easy, secure, and delivers reports needed to make an informed decision, including a credit report, a national criminal search, and a national eviction search.
How Tenant Screening Works For You
Now that we’ve reviewed the different types of tenant screening services, you’re likely wondering how they benefit you. It’s really very simple: it gives you a better idea of your applicant so you can make an educated decision about who you’d like to rent your property. We’ve written a great deal on how to use screenings to your best advantage and how it supports tenant safety, as well as best practices for how to read between the lines and understand what reports are telling you, and how to make a judgment call based on those factors.
You can’t rely too heavily on a single report to tell you everything you need to know. Every tenant is unique, and you have to use your best judgment to figure out who’s going to be the best fit for your rental. Screening reports are a tool to give you much-needed context and information to support you in making your decision. We highly recommend interviewing prospective tenants and creating a thorough application process with the screening fee included in the cost as a way to elevate your applicant pool. For more advice, please follow this blog! We update regularly.
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