Thread: How to Screen tenants

I think you have the right to do it yourself, but you should only warn the tenants that you will do it from time to time.

Over the last 10 years or so of owning and managing real estate and rental property here in the Twin Cities, I have found it best to have a "standard operating procedure" for what you do for each rental, rental application, etc. It is most advisable to look into your state laws to be sure you are affording prospective tenants all of the rights they deserve as well.

I have used a company called Trak-1 to do credit, criminal, and unlawful detainer background checks over the years. They have done a great job in providing this information so that I am able to make an informed decision on a rental applicant.

I also know some landlords of real estate that do not pull a background check and just go with their "gut" feeling. Obviously this can be very risky.

Best of luck to you!

You can do the screening yourself. I don't think you need to hire an expert!

I believe that you have to do the screening yourself. So you will see whether they are fit to become your tenant.

you can really do it by yourself, you can ask the tenant immediate family and relatives

Depends on your experience in dealing with tenants. Do you know how to read a credit report? Even if the tenants scores are low, it may be because of something like a recent bankruptcy. If the tenant has a good rental history (made his housing payments on time) a recent bankruptcy could be a good thing for you. The tenant just erased all their debt so they should have plenty of money to pay you. Also these tenants likely will not qualify for a new mortgage any time soon so they could be open to a longer lease term.

Either way you do it, go drive by their current location and see how that looks. That's how your rentals going to look. (a car parked in the front yard, trash, grass not cut, etc)

sentrylink.com is a great site to screen tenants for criminal backgrounds and credit. It is inexpensive and really accurate. If you have any questions, please contact me at apartmentrealtyfl.com Good Luck!

You have to know many of the best tenants might have a ding on their credit scores due to foreclosure or a short sale. You can easily check credit scores yourself or hire a property management company that can handle all of the nuances for you including the screening of tenants.