If you are a seasoned landlord or have considered becoming one you've probably heard the many stories related to the "tenants from hell" which not only made the landlord's life miserable, but when they turned to a property to a management partner to take care of the problem, they found out that the tenant's history was not exactly what was written in the application.

But they seemed like a nice family and offered to do amazing things to help improve the home such as painting, landscaping and fixing the leaky bathroom faucet they didnt have time to repair! They got blinded and accepted the application only veryfing that they worked where they said they worked and calling the previous landlord, who praised the tenants, said they went so far as to paying extra rent sometimes and painted their whole house! But when the property manager checked it was not their previous landlord who gave references but a family member... can you even imagine?

And that's why tenant screening THE MOST important process in the application. Here are 9 reasons why:

1) Violence

If a tenant is violent, it's not necesarily always documented, but running a criminal history check to paint a picture of your prospective tenant and if they have past violence issues is a good way to manage the risk. 

Have you heard the saying - better safe than sorry? Believe me, it's much better to wait for an excellent tenant than to lease out of desperation and pay the consequences. Our Property Management Department can help take care of this and all other aspects of managing your rental. Contact us if you want to explore having your property professionally managed!

6) llegal Drug Use/Dealing

In minor cases, the odor is an occasional inconvenience to neighbors.  In not so minor cases, the person is a drug dealer, possesses a significant amount of drugs or installs a lab in your property! Landlords can be liable for knowingly harboring a drug dealer. Be sure to enforce a strict no-drug policy and screen screen screen! to ensure there is no drug history.  

7) Accidental Injury/Manslaughter

If your tenant leaves something in the middle of a walkway, or is driving too fast in the parking lot they can cause accidents and hurt others.  Carelessness can show up in a screening report by way of having a series of traffic violations. 

8)   Sex Offenders

Many sex offenders are friendly and seem very innocent in person. This is easy to verify and you don't want to have a sex offender in the community let alone near a school. Ensure everyone you do business with is as innocent as they appear.             

9) Late Rent Payments

Who wants to rent a house for free?? I'm hoping not you!! You have payments to make and will be hit with late fees and phone calls from your bank when you are unable to pay because your tenant hasn’t paid.  Your only option is to fine the tenant a hefty late fee and if it's a one time situation you'll be able to manage it but if evey month there's an excuse you will hurt! If the tenant has bad credit and/or struggles to pay on a monthly basis, the issue will only escalate with time unless you take care of it with an eviction or by being proactive and screening the credit history in advance.