Aside from buying properties and getting them ready for tenants, the landlord has to perform tenant screening. It’s one of the landlord’s most crucial tasks. You want to look for good tenants and what better way to weed out the bad ones than through screening them and checking their backgrounds?
Once you start creating attractive property listings at Padleads and syndicating it to rental websites, tenant applications will come flooding in and the screening process will begin.
A landlord will want someone reliable, can take care of his property, and can pay rent on time. However, not all applicants will have those desired qualities. This is where the tenant screening process plays a major role.
A lot of factors should be taken into account when you are looking for good tenants. For example, their income, credit score, previous rental experience, and a lot more. But today, I will be teaching you about the details in your tenants’ applications that you should consider as red flags.
THE OBVIOUS:
Past eviction
A tenant with a history of getting kicked out of their previous rental is a big red flag. You should avoid renting out to these tenants especially if it happened more than once. A lot of reasons can be the cause of the eviction and, more often than not, they are the tenant’s fault. You may want to steer clear of having to deal with a bad tenant.
Poor credit history
Renting out properties is a business. A business generates profit and yours happen to be reliant on your tenants’ payments. This will not only be your income, but it will also cover the expenses for the maintenance and bills. If an applicant has poor credit history and debt, you can reject their application. It will only cause you problems if you accommodate a tenant who is unable to pay rent.
Records of criminal activity
You can reject a tenant with a criminal record without violating the Fair Housing Act if their criminal activities involved violence against other people and destruction of properties. You have to take into consideration the safety of your property and your other tenants.
THE INCONSPICUOUS:
Landlord reference
Past landlord references can give you an idea of how a person is as a tenant. Ask them if the applicant has a history of missed or late payments, has caused damages to the property, and disobeys the terms written on the lease agreement.
Constant moving
A tenant who is constantly moving from one area to another can be a problem. You would want a tenant who plans on staying long-term because it is more stable and you will not have to go through the entire process of filling in a vacancy.
Hesitant to fill up the application form
A person who wants to rent a property knows the protocol of having to fill up an application and going through the process of screening. This should one of the first things you should ask an applicant to do. An applicant who refuses to do this simple but vital task may have suspicious intent.
Leaving blank spaces in the application
A tenant can leave blanks on an application for questions or items that do not apply to them. However, those spaces that should be filled in must have the complete and correct information. If a tenant has unusual blanks in their form, they are probably trying to hide something that they know will get them rejected.
Refuses to disclose their Social Security Number
It is understandable if some applicants would refuse to disclose or provide you with their Social Security Number because these are sometimes used for identity theft and other criminal activities. However, experienced tenants know that this is a piece of required information when applying to rent.
Be very cautious of these red flags as you screen your pool of applicants. Remember that whoever you choose will be responsible for a property that you invested a lot of money in.