Have you ever heard the phrase "they seemed like they would be such
great tenants, what happened?!" This is something that happens to
everyone, even the best property owners and landlords. Here are some
great methods to properly check out those potential renters, giving you
the best chance at a successful renter-landlord relationship.
1. First, you will want to require that all potential tenants give you proof of income by giving you a paycheck stub with their application, or you may request it after you have taken the application. Some tenants have been known to create fake paycheck stubs and to ask friends or family to act as their employer if the landlord calls to check employment. To get around this type of scam you will need to look at the paycheck stub Company Name, find that company's number and directly call the Human Resources department of that company. Simply ask them if the tenant works for them.
2. You will need to call all references and earlier landlords. Be polite but ask important character questions! If calling a landlord, ask him/her to verify the address. It is a good idea to do this because some renters ask friends or family to act as their earlier landlord. You should be able to weed this out right away by asking them to verify the rental address.
3. You will definitely want to check to see if any potential tenant is a registered sex offender. The FBI offers a good national sex offender database at FBI.gov.
4. Check your state court records system. Good news! Most states now have online search capabilities. Simply type in your potential renters name and see if they have had any legal troubles that could affect you in the future. For example, if you find cases where the person was taken to court for financial, drug, violent or criminal infractions, you may want to throw that application away!
5. Conduct a character check of your potential tenants. There are sites like pipl.com and facebook.com that can give lots of information on how that person really is on a day-to-day basis. You do not want to "snoop" but you do want to get a good idea of the type of person you will be allowing to live in your property.
6. Verify all tenants social security numbers. You can do this for free on ssnvalidator.com.
7. If you want, you can also order a full credit check on the potential tenant. These always cost money but are usually worth it.
If you perform all of these checks, you will have a very good chance of choosing the best tenant possible. You will also know more about the person you have chosen to occupy your property. Once you choose your qualified tenant, you will also need to have an iron rental lease agreement that fully protects you for the duration of that lease. You may want to read my articles on landlord lease protection clauses and landlord tax deductions to learn more about how to protect yourself and succeed in this industry.
1. First, you will want to require that all potential tenants give you proof of income by giving you a paycheck stub with their application, or you may request it after you have taken the application. Some tenants have been known to create fake paycheck stubs and to ask friends or family to act as their employer if the landlord calls to check employment. To get around this type of scam you will need to look at the paycheck stub Company Name, find that company's number and directly call the Human Resources department of that company. Simply ask them if the tenant works for them.
2. You will need to call all references and earlier landlords. Be polite but ask important character questions! If calling a landlord, ask him/her to verify the address. It is a good idea to do this because some renters ask friends or family to act as their earlier landlord. You should be able to weed this out right away by asking them to verify the rental address.
3. You will definitely want to check to see if any potential tenant is a registered sex offender. The FBI offers a good national sex offender database at FBI.gov.
4. Check your state court records system. Good news! Most states now have online search capabilities. Simply type in your potential renters name and see if they have had any legal troubles that could affect you in the future. For example, if you find cases where the person was taken to court for financial, drug, violent or criminal infractions, you may want to throw that application away!
5. Conduct a character check of your potential tenants. There are sites like pipl.com and facebook.com that can give lots of information on how that person really is on a day-to-day basis. You do not want to "snoop" but you do want to get a good idea of the type of person you will be allowing to live in your property.
6. Verify all tenants social security numbers. You can do this for free on ssnvalidator.com.
7. If you want, you can also order a full credit check on the potential tenant. These always cost money but are usually worth it.
If you perform all of these checks, you will have a very good chance of choosing the best tenant possible. You will also know more about the person you have chosen to occupy your property. Once you choose your qualified tenant, you will also need to have an iron rental lease agreement that fully protects you for the duration of that lease. You may want to read my articles on landlord lease protection clauses and landlord tax deductions to learn more about how to protect yourself and succeed in this industry.
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