When you start accepting new applications for one of your properties, you’ll undoubtedly be asking your potential tenants for their current address and rental history, if they have one. Landlords and property managers will want to pay attention to the current address especially during their initial screening process. It can tell you a lot about your applicant right away, and you’ll want to do additional research, as well.
Know The Warning Signs
One of the first things to note is whether the applicant is the primary account holder at the residence. They may offer this information upfront or you may have to ask about it. If you discover that they’re living with their parents or at a friend’s place without their name on the lease, take that into serious consideration. This situation isn’t unheard of, especially for younger people. For someone who’s fresh out of high school or college, living with their parents makes financial sense and may have been their best option at the time. Now that they’re venturing out into the working world, they could be ready for the responsibility of their own place and have the income to handle rent. This is where further screening and questions about job status and monthly income are important. Make sure you know the background there.
On the other hand, an older applicant who’s still living at home could be a potential red flag. Again, with the Recession and other factors of the modern world, people are tending to live with their parents longer before venturing out on their own or may have gone through a rocky period that necessitated moving back home. It happens, and it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be a poor tenant. However, it’s always worth it to do your due diligence, especially if the person is old enough to be well-established in the working world. Sometimes someone with a rocky eviction history may use a parent or friend’s home address as their residence on an application to obscure that fact.
Get A Complete Picture
Always get a good residential reference and ask about residential history beyond the current residence, if it exists. Parents or good friends are less likely to give you the full truth about a prospective tenant, especially if they weren’t paying rent. Speaking with those references won’t give you a good idea of whether the applicant can make payments on time, and a close relative or friend may fudge the facts a bit to make the applicant look better. It’s better to speak to an unrelated landlord or property manager from a past residence.
Tenant screening services will give you a much more well-rounded portrait of an applicant’s history, including:
- Past residences
- Eviction history
- Criminal reports
It’s well worth your time.
For help in selecting the right tenants for your properties, we recommend our RentalConnect. 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.
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