What’s the worst kind of tenant for a landlord? The one who never pays the rent on time. Quite true! But things can go far worse than that. Like it did for this landlord in New Jersey.
But how can a landlord make sure he never rents to troublesome tenants? After all, everybody presents themselves as kind and well-behaved at first sight. Fortunately, there is a way to take a deeper look into a potential tenant.
We’re talking about background checks. Be it overdue rent payments or threats of violent conflict, background checks can help you avoid them. Yet, a lot of landlords tend to skip such an important part of the renting-out process.
So, without further ado, let’s talk in detail about why a tenant background check is important.
Why Landlords Should Conduct Tenant Background Checks?
1. To Check if the Tenant is Dangerous
What happens if you miss out on a background check and rent to a violent tenant with a criminal past? It will definitely lead to safety issues not just for you, the landlord, but also for other tenants.
One mistake can quite literally wreak havoc and lead to lawsuits and everyday threats. To avoid going through such episodes, all you need to do is get a thorough criminal background check conducted on the potential tenant.
Yet, we advise you to be discerning with criminal background check reports. Disqualifying anyone with the most minor mentions of a criminal record.
If the record is minor and happened a long time ago, you can try being considerate and give the tenant a shot. But if the crimes are serious, it’s always better to be on the safe side!
2. To Learn About their Financial History
How a person handled money in the past tells you a lot about them. If not anything else, it definitely lets you know if they’re more or less likely to pay their rent and utility charges on time.
It goes without saying that a record full of late payments and overdue loans are massive red flags that any landlord shouldn’t ignore.
And looking at the high percentage of people who are late on rent payments in the United States, conducting a tenant credit and background check is a must-do.
Especially if you are renting out an expensive property, it is a fact that not everyone can afford the place. So, get a quick and detailed credit background check conducted on the prospective tenant.
As a landlord, you can even choose to evict a tenant because of overdue rent. But, starting eviction proceedings against a tenant in the United States will cost you at least $3500, in the most modest estimates.
3. To Take a Look into their Previous Conduct
Criminal records will tell you quite a bit you would ideally want to know about a tenant-to-be. But knowing how they behaved with prior landlords is also something that you should know.
After all, who better than the previous landlord to tell you about how a person is as a tenant? In most cases, you’re likely to hear positive feedback.
But it is important for those rare times when you learn about horror stories of damaging property, being incredibly late with the rent, etc.
Whether you want to give a quick call to the previous landlord or conduct a thorough reference check is on you.
All we can say is more in-depth the check, the higher your chances of uncovering details you should know about the person.
4. To Keep your Property Safe
Apart from overdue rent and threats of violence, damage to the property is another major concern for the landlord. No one wants to see something they have tried to hard to achieve being mistreated by the tenant.
And that’s where something like a civil check comes in. You get to better understand what that person is in their social and professional. Such information can be more than enough to decipher if that person will be willing to:
- Take care of your property as if it is your own.
- Meet the terms of the agreement and follow any criteria you’ve set.
So, if you love your property and don’t want to be repairing things all the time, a tenant background check is important.
5. To Reduce Tenant Turnover
High tenant turnover rates can hamper profitability and cost landlords dearly. Naturally, you wouldn’t want your property vacated every three months.
By learning about the previous record of the candidate, you can get an idea if they will be willing to stay put longer.
Added to the cost in terms of money, all the hassle of showing the property to potential tenants, advertising the place, and answering dozens of phone calls can also be hectic.
That’s another reason why it is better to avoid tenants that are more likely to vacate quickly. And thorough background checks will help you find good tenants that you can rely on to stay long-term.
Conduct Background Checks: Avoid Being Held Liable
If you miss out on a tenant background check, you can be held liable if something goes wrong. For instance, if your tenant commits a crime at your property, you can even be sued for negligence as well.
So, it is always better to be sure when you rent your property to someone. Also, most landlords include the background check fee with the application.
What Should a Thorough Tenant Background Check include?
1. Identity Verification
When you are renting out your property, there’s one thing you just cannot avoid. You’ve got to be sure that the prospective tenant is actually the person they are claiming to be.
This is where Identity Verification comes in which checks multiple records and biometrics to determine the validity of the person’s identity.
Identity Theft Cases in the USA are on the rise!
Looking at the increase in cases of identity theft in the United States, it becomes even more important to get an identity verification conducted on a prospective tenant.
2. Criminal Records
We have already talked about how important criminal records are for landlords. It is probably the most important part of the tenant background check.
If you have other tenants, conducting a criminal check on any new prospective tenants ensures safety for you, the property, and other tenants as well.
3. Eviction Check
An Eviction Check lets a landlord know how many times has a tenant been evicted in the past. So, if you’re a landlord looking to reduce tenant turnover, an eviction check has to be the most important part of the tenant screening process.
In some cases, a simple reference check can tell you all about the eviction records you want to know. After all, a person can be evicted for a variety of reasons ranging from rent overdue, violent conflicts, and so on.
4. Credit Check
Tenant credit and background checks involve pulling out all the money records of a prospective tenant. This helps give an insight into their financial behavior, how regular they’ve been with rents, etc.
A thorough credit check involves taking a look at credit card and debit card records. In addition to that, bankruptcy records and details of delayed payments are some other aspects that are looked at.
Get a Thorough Tenant Background Check Conducted
A simple google search will take you to endless results of landlord-tenant conflict. We’re pretty sure you are a landlord who just wants to rent out to gain some income and not have to deal with a troublesome tenant every day.
And that’s why it is always better to get a thorough background check conducted on every prospective tenant.
Now, conducting an in-depth renter background check involves a lot of digging and fieldwork as well. So, it is a wiser option to outsource it to a company that delivers thorough background check reports in no time.
Choose the wiser option and sit back while the background check reports reach you and you can choose a tenant fit to move in into your property!
