Property Management – Northridge

Tenant Screening

Finding good tenants and keeping them is difficult, and the best way to make sure you do is by proper screening. But you have to make sure you cover as many bases as possible, because if you don’t get it right, you might end up with a deadbeat who will drain you of your profit.

There are two ways to go about doing a background check: you can do it yourself, or you can hire a property management company. Obviously doing it yourself will be cheaper, but each one will take hours and may not be reliable. Should you choose to it yourself, there are certain things you should look for. Ask the tenant for everyone they’ve rented from over the last 10 years and make sure that the time frames they’ve stated match with what the landlords reports. Ask them if they Above all make sure that the tenant has never been evicted. Credit checks should be your first port of call. There are three main credit rating bureaus, but there is one caveat: credit bureaus make mistakes both in favor of the tenant and not in favor. Checking all three will allow you to make a more reliable judgment. A criminal background check is more difficult to do yourself, but most counties in the US have websites with a list of crimes committed in recent years. Additionally, the National Sex Offender Registry is a free online service that is excellent for ferreting out criminals. Finally you should verify their place of employment and income. An applicant who has worked at the same job for five years of more is ideal, but people do change jobs, and this will have to be taken into consideration.

A number of things you should be wary of:

• Applicants who don’t have bank accounts. Tells the property manager that the applicant lives hand to mouth.
• Applicants who supply data that is not consistent with the data on their reports, i.e., date of birth is slightly different, or a social security number that is one digit off.
• Applicants who are in the middle of the bankruptcy process when they apply for the apartment.
• Aliens without proper documentation.
• Applicants who do not have a current utility bill. This will verify that they live at their current residence.
• Applicants who have neither a driver license nor passport. Either of these will properly identify an applicant. If the applicant has neither, the only thing you will be able to go on is their word. (Social security cards can be easily forged)

By Grant Van Der Jagt