One of the most important parts of this business is choosing the right tenants for a property. All landlords wish to land good renters who will pay the bills on time, takes care of the property, and follow all the rules set on the lease agreement.
To find a good tenant, a residential rental agent must conduct a thorough screening process. One can accomplish that goal by verifying the information they provided, checking past rentals through previous landlords, and credit checking. For this article, let us look into credit checks and what you should look out for.
Because you help landlords fill in vacancies by finding them tenants, you can also do credit checks. This is a list of things that will determine if a tenant has a good credit background:
• Consistent in paying
A good indicator that an applicant has good potential to be a tenant is consistency. It is best to check if an applicant is consistent in making payments on time. Not only two or three payment dates, but on the course of a few years.
If the applicant can pay his loans without fail, this shows that he is dependable and responsible. It indicates a high likelihood that he will also pay rent on time. After all, the goal of this business is to earn profit from the rental payment, so prompt payment is crucial.
• Debts
One thing that you should also check is if the applicant has any current, unpaid debt. Having a record of debt does not necessarily mean that the applicant is unreliable in paying rent. You have to evaluate if he is capable of paying off those debts.
If his debt is more than he can afford, it can be a red flag. That means he might have a hard time juggling his finances with his rent and debt.
• Timely Payment
You can discover open and closed credit accounts during these checks. Usually, open credit accounts like credit card bills are paid every month. Closed accounts, on the other hand, are either paid in full or have a remaining balance.
Satisfied accounts are also part of the report. These are fully paid for by the applicant. You should check if he has more paid accounts than unpaid ones because it will help identify if he is capable of paying on time.
• History of Renting
Part of tenant screening is investigating their rental history. If they have one, you can contact their former landlord to get more information.
You should ask about how they are when taking care of the property, or if they were able to follow what was stipulated in the contract. And since this is part of the credit check, inquire if the tenant owes them money or had a bad history of paying rent.
• Bankruptcy
Another thing to look for is recorded bankruptcy. These will usually appear on a person’s credit report for 10 years. Just like debt, a bankruptcy report is not necessarily a bad thing because it could have already been resolved.
Discharge bankruptcy means a debtor is no longer obligated to pay the debt. This is a sign that he can afford to spend money on other things like rent.
A landlord needs the rental payment to maintain the property to its standards and earn money for himself. A tenant’s ability to pay rent is a huge factor, and that is why it is important to do credit checks. You can’t recommend a tenant who you know is unable to afford the property. You want to give landlords the best tenant you can find.
Speaking of finding the best one out there, they just might be looking for properties right now. Why not try Padleads? You can network with a large number of potential tenants because the site allows you post property listings that you can syndicate to other well-known websites.