After the initial interview and property tour, the next step that is that a Tenants Agent will start the application process. As the market for Princeton Rentals is brisk Tenants agents sometimes rush and miss things. As a Princeton landlord, here are a few things to look for.
The information provided on these application forms is important in helping you conduct tenant credit screening. With the consent of the applicant you can screen your prospective renter. You also want to consider an application fee to cover you cost of the tenant credit screening.
When you go to a credit-screening agency to run a credit check on the applicant, they will give you a report that contains a comprehensive account of their payment history. Included in this report is information on irregular payments, payment defaults and any other red flags that can help you determine if the applicant will pose a credit risk.
Usually, when it comes to tenant credit screening score’s anything above 600 is considered good with scores below 600 considered more risky.
While tenant credit screening may furnish you with enough information to shortlist applicants, it is not comprehensive enough to help you make a well-informed decision.
There are three areas that private landlords make the mistake of overlooking during tenant screening. These are previous rental history, checking if the tenant has a criminal record and verifying their employment information.
Rental history
Using the details the applicant provided in the application form, you can contact their former private landlord to get information on what type of a tenant they were. Previous private landlords are often an invaluable and reliable source of information because they rarely if ever, have a motive to lie.
They can let you know how prompt the tenant was at paying rent, whether they were ever late or whether they left without paying. You would also want to know how well the tenant looked after the property.
After all, the last thing you want is a tenant racking up your bills due to growing cost of repairs. Take note; if the tenant was evicted, it tells you that not only are they rent defaulters but they most likely will be uncooperative when you ask them to vacate the property.
Criminal record
Even though criminal background checks are usually at the discretion of the landlord, performing one can save you a lot of trouble in future. Criminal records are maintained as public information, meaning that you can carry out thorough investigations yourself to determine if your applicant that has passed tenant credit screening has a criminal history.
In some states of the US, such a search can be conducted online. As a private landlord, you reserve the right of admittance onto your property – as such you can use this information to disqualify any applicant.
Verifying employment
Unlike tenant credit screening, verifying employment is fairly straightforward. All you need to do is to either visit or call their employer to confirm that the tenant indeed still works there.
Do not rely on the contacts the tenant may provide as it is possible to collude with a third party to corroborate false information. Instead, check in the directory for the firm’s contacts so you can be certain you are calling your prospective tenant’s employer.
Tenant credit screening is important but don’t make the mistakes above as these other checks are just as important for you to choose the right tenants.
As a Princeton Rental specialist feel free to call me with any questions regarding your investment property. (c) 609-977-5343 – Julie
