Corra Group founders were recently interviewed by French News Cable channel CanalPlus, regarding background checks in the Film and Television industry, specifically about Ryan Jenkins and running background checks on Reality Television industry contestants. The interview is overdubbed in French, but you can hear what’s going on underneath.

Click here to learn more about this interview

About the Author:

Basichis is also co-founder of Corra, which as the Corra Group specializes
in pre-employment and corporate research and investigation. In addition to his books, Basichis has written Breach of Trust/​Crash, a feature film, and has co-written several television series pilots. He co-created and served as Executive Producer on the forthcoming Showtime mini-series Land of Dreams. He was the co-producer of an ABC Television Network series pilot, and the
producer-director of Jerry, One Man’s Triumph, a video documentary about the nation’s first jailhouse lawyer. He has worked as an investigative
journalist and researcher, and in advertising, marketing and public
relations.

The trouble in this recesssion is that even people with good credit are having a hard time paying their bills.   A credit report is only as good as the moment it was taken.  Insisting on proof of employment is a valuable way to make sure you tenant can at least pay next months rent.  But what about four months from now? after your tenant has moved in.  Are you noticing signs of problems?  Have the checks been arriving later and later in the month?  Are you charging late fees?  Is your tenant dating their checks for later in the month?  Are you feeling squeezed?  It’s difficult to know the right thing to do.  Always adhere to the local, state, and nationals laws about housing.  It is worth maintaining a line of communication with your tenant.  Maintain accurate and current contact information for your tenant.  Should they decide to skip town without paying rent, contact information will assist with locating and collecting any judgments you obtain.

Landlords need to realize they will save money in the long run by investing in tenant background checks.   A properly screened tenant is about as good a testament of future behavior is you can get.  You can’t always predict if someone is going to lose your job and get divorced and lose their source of income, but at least you will know that up to that point their credit has not been affected.  At least with a tenant like that, they will work with you to pay a rent.   You can avoid the repeat offenders with a simple credit report.

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Eviction Records
We would also add that checking for Eviction Records is an important aspect of tenant screening.  While anyone could be struck with hard luck during this economic crisis, be aware that a previous pattern of evictions shows how much respect your prospective tenant has for the contract you are about to sign.

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for more information, contact Tenantchecker.com

The courses begin in September and cover various aspects of home owning including first time home buying, windows, woodworking, radiant heat panels, and property management including a section on tenant screening.   The course includes information on city codes, relationships with tenants, and how to conduct tenant screening.

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Keep in my mind that screening a tenant screening report requires some analysis and evaluation of risk.   The paper version of someone might not match who they are: a DUI from ten years ago, doesn’t mean they are currently an alcoholic.  Look at the totality of the person, including conducting an employment verification and reference checks.

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In addition to discussing low interest loans for property repair, using the Internet to link potential tenants and landlords, they also discussed the important of Tenant Screening.  Large multi-occupancy housing complexes are their own communities and landlords are advised to effectively screen all tenants to protect their communities and their local housing reputation.  All it takes is one bad seed to destroy a neighborhood. Landlords can avoid most negligence lawsuits by conducting a tenant screening program that including credit history report, eviction records, criminal records search, as well as employment verification. 

Predicting future tenant behavior

While you cannot foretell the future, awareness of previous eviction records and horrible credit history are a red flag and shows you how your prospective tenant dealt with financial responsibility in the past.   Unless they have newly discovered financial responsibility and are seeking to turn their lives around, what evidence do you have that they will pay rent ever month and not damage the apartment?

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This is an original and creative method of helping out tenant and landlords.  We have always stressed the importance of understanding the rental laws of your community, as well as State and Federal.   Jefferson Community is providing a great resource to their local community, and we hope more cities and towns follow their lead. 

They stressed in the article the importance of establishing a business relationship with your tenant/landlord, instead of seeking a friendship.  This is a business situation and “friendships” can feel betrayed by some factors that are out of your control as a landlord.  They recommend establishing the business relationship right away to avoid any awkwardness later.    

Source of Credit Reports
One of the ways of establishing that business connection is to begin with a formal tenant screening program.  The applicant is required to sign a release form, and will undergo a standardized background check based on your requirements, which may include a credit history report, eviction records, employment verification, as well a criminal record search. Obtaining credit reports on your potential tenants requires an initial site inspection of your office premises, to protect credit data against potential fraud.  You may be tempted to allow your tenants to bring in a downloaded version of a credit report.  While this is expedient, you are exposing yourself to potential modified documentation.  The power of Photoshop is hard to decipher.  We recommend you obtain credit reports using your tenant screening provider.

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Desperate Times
These are desperate times, and more than ever you need to start tapping into your a survivalist instinct.  Think of life as an episode of “Man vs. Wild”  But instead of wandering through a Siberian Forest, you are moving through your world on the brink of an apocalypse.  You can save yourself time and money by relearning street smarts.  The stories of older relatives who survived the depression are more relevant than ever.  Now is the time to think carefully about every financial relationship you build, which bank you decide to use, what landlord you want to rent from, want tenant you want to rent to, and the quality and reputation of every business relationship you cultivate.

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