3 Reasons Landlords Should Screen Tenants

1. Prime rental properties receive numerous applications for tenancy. With so many applications to go over, it can be challenging to figure out which ones deserve a longer look, which ones should go on your list, and which ones need to be eliminated early on. If you’re starting to rent out property, and you’re wondering if you need to do this step or skip it, here are three good reasons why a good landlord always screens their tenants and why you should do. Prevent Evictions Evictions are costly. They’re also very stressful and take up so much of your time. If you’d rather use your resources elsewhere, then be careful when you choose a new tenant. If you only rely on what you see when you meet the applicant, you might fall for a well-constructed illusion. You should always check the applicant’s records. Carry out a background check. If you don’t know how or don’t have the

2. time for this, though, hire pros. Get a tenant screening service to help you. With pros to provide you with more information about the applications on your desk or email, you’ll have an easier time winnowing out good prospective tenants from bad ones. That way, you won’t have to worry about getting a tenant that you’ll only end up evicting sooner or later. Efficient Rent Collection It’s a hassle to deal with a tenant who always pays late or never on time. If you have other responsibilities on your plate, or if this isn’t the only rental property you have, then you need a more efficient way to collect the rent. That’s where screening services come in. By using a screening solution, you can make rent collection easy. It helps you get rid of potential tenants that don’t have the financial resources to make the monthly rent or those that already have a bad record with previous tenants, especially if that involves late payments. You’ll want to avoid any prospective tenants with that problem. Otherwise, you might face the same issues yourself. Keep in mind that if those late payments escalate, you’ll end up handling another eviction case.

3. Reputable Options There are a lot of solutions for screening tenants. You can look for a software or program to help you. That’s a good start. Just make sure there’s vendor support and assistance. That way, if something comes up and you run into problems with the software, you’ll know where to get help. With a program that can screen through your tenant applications and makes the application process easier through an online process, then that’s a huge plus. Management Ease When you have a tenant screening solution, you can manage multiple properties with ease. Now, being a landlord of a property or two—or even three—won’t have to mean running haggard, trying to keep track of the applications. A screening service means you can filter through the pile much faster and arrive at a short list of options sooner. The tenant screening saves you time, since it eliminates applications that aren’t a good fit for your property, allowing you to focus on the best prospective tenants.