Bad tenants are a landlord's worst nightmare.
You've worked hard to invest in a rental property, and the last thing you want is a tenant who rarely pays rent on time, treats the property poorly and violates lease terms.
Fortunately, you can reduce your chances of having bad tenants by investing in tenant screening. With 90% of landlords checking a prospective renter's evection record, criminal background, and credit history, it's vital that you also screen your tenants.
However, you might consider outsourcing the task to a tenant screening service. Is it a plausible move?
Find out below!
Access to Comprehensive Tenant Screening
Landlords who do tenant screening in-house (on their own) risk rushing through the process in a bid to find a tenant quickly. You might focus more on their financial history because your main goal is to find a tenant who will not default.
Of what good is having a tenant who pays on time but causes extensive damage to the property? That's what you get when your screening isn't comprehensive.
On the other hand, professional tenant screening services leave no stone unturned. To ensure you get an excellent tenant, they'll perform the following checks:
- Credit history
- Employment history
- Eviction history
- Rental history
- Criminal history
- Contact references.
Save Time
It can take anywhere from a few days to a week or two to complete a tenant screening.
If you're doing the screening, expect it to take longer than average, especially if you're doing a comprehensive check. Yet, time isn't on your side when you have a rental that's been without a tenant for a couple of months.
A tenant screening service will save you a lot of time. These companies know how to get the needed information quickly, study it, and make an informed decision. This will help hasten the turnover process between tenants.
Plus, if you have a full-time job, you're probably already struggling to stay on top of your landlord duties. Taking tenant screening off your plate will free up a bit of your time, so you can focus on other property management tasks.
Reduce the Risk of Discrimination Lawsuits
You run the risk of being hit with a discrimination claim or lawsuit every time you reject a rental application.
Landlords have the right to perform background checks on renters, but there are also anti-discrimination laws that you must comply with. If you're not familiar with these laws, you might innocently ask a discriminatory question, such as an applicant's citizenship, that could land you in legal trouble. The applicant can sue you for discrimination.
Outsourcing tenant screening reduces your exposure to these lawsuits. Since it's being handled by a third party, nobody will claim that you discriminated against them in a screening process. If they have to sue, it's the screening service that will be on the receiving end.
Tenant Screening: Leave It to the Experts
Tenant screening is an essential part of managing a rental property. As a landlord, you can do it yourself or outsource to a screening service. As the article has demonstrated, outsourcing is a smart move.
But why settle for a smart decision when you can make a smarter one? Hire a full-service property management company and get a suite of services, including tenant screening, accounting, and marketing, under one roof.
Contact PMI Property Pros for more information.
