Tenant screening is a powerful force in renting, with 14% of applications rejected through the screening process alone. This shows that it is catching many people who would not be a good fit as a tenant. But if you are a new landlord where do you learn more about how to do this?
Below we have created a short tenant screening guide. In this document, we have put together some of the most important information about tenant screening for someone in the Salt Lake City area. By the end, you should have a good understanding of why you would want to engage in this practice.
What Is Tenant Screening
This process allows a landlord to check into a potential tenant's background. Doing this helps a landlord by ensuring that there are no "gotchas" that may occur while the tenant is renting. It prevents the landlord from having to spend much more money at a later time due to damage, loss of rent, or evictions.
A good screening ensures that a potential tenant is of good character and solid financial background.
What Does Tenant Screening Cost?
Most tenant screenings are very cheap. They can cost as little as $30, and in some locations can drop down as far as $15 or even less. As this process could end up saving you several thousand dollars with a potentially harmful tenant, it is a worthwhile investment.
Tenant Screening Tips
It is entirely possible to include the cost of tenant screening in the application process. This covers several issues.
First, it ensures that the applicant is serious with their application and wants to invest in a potential rental. Second, you do not need to invest your own money in the screening process. Third, if a potential tenant cannot afford a $30 application fee for screening, they are unlikely to be able to afford rent.
You should also not increase your application fee any higher than any actual costs. Tenants will be trying to find a cheap place to rent from, and any extra fees will put them off very fast.
Tenant Screening Benefits
You can check to see if a tenant has the following in check:
Criminal history - you can see if the tenant has a history that could affect how they treat the property and the kind of visitors they have.
Credit Report - you can check to see if the tenant is good to afford rent
Eviction - you can find out if the tenant has been evicted elsewhere
SSN - you can find out if the tenant's social security number is valid
How to Screen Tenants
You should now have a better idea about tenant screening in the Salt Lake City area. As such, you might want to look into organizations that can help you with such processes. This is where Wolfnext comes in.
Our specialists are ready to talk to you about our property management practices and how they can help you in the long run. So, pick up the phone today and talk to us about your options.
