The decision to rent out your property is a great long-term investment. A large number of people are deciding to rent these days instead of purchasing their own place, and some opt to stay in a rented property while saving up to buy their dream home. These types of people will of course gravitate to apartments or condominiums, and if you own one or the other, you’ll always have people to rent it.
As a landlord, you’ll also want to make sure the people who occupy your rental property are the right sort of tenants. Just as a bank will conduct a credit check on borrowers who apply for a loan, so should you screen the people who apply for an opportunity to rent your property by conducting a rental credit check. This is your investment, after all, and it will be in your best interests to ensure that it is as safe as possible by populating it with people who will treat your rental as fondly as if it were their own home.
The best way you can filter through potential tenants is to subject each applicant to a rental background check. A rental background check is one of the best resources you have to protect you, your family, and your investment. It is a thorough examination of your potential tenant’s background, including everything from their credit history to their possible felon records.
It’s crucial to know whether your tenant-applicant is capable of giving you the rent on a steady basis. In a standard background check, you’ll be presented with a report detailing incidents of late payments, defaults, past bounced checks, or even bankruptcy. This background report will help you determine your approval or rejection of a potential tenant’s rental application and will save you from the drawn-out and expensive process of eviction in the future.
Previous brushes with the law will also appear in an applicant’s rental background check. This will make filtering out the bad seeds much easier for you, and you won’t have to fear the destruction of your property, or your other tenants being harassed by a dangerous neighbor.
The background check will also yield info and contact details of previous landlords, and you can make use of this information to make contact and inquire about your tenant applicant’s past lease record.
Taking advantage of a background check is good protection for your investment. It will ensure that your rental property is occupied by good character tenants who are meticulously on time with the rent, and who will care for your rental with the same concern that you would, as the landlord.