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

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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criminal terminology

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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tenant screening
eviction records

WLKY.com

The story highlights one of the dangers of not responding to tenant complaints: there is a strong possibility of negative publicity, especially in the down economy, for these types of stories to make the local publications. With the Internet, these local stories turn into nationwide awareness of your firm, in this case, Brookside Properties, in Nashville

We recommend getting out in front of these types of problems before the potential for negative attacks.   Take precautionary measures to ensure a safe living environment for your tenants.  Before winter, work with the utility companies to check out heating equipment and minimize breakdowns.  It will save you money in the long run.  Your tenants will love you, and pay rent faster, stay longer, and recommend your building.

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tenant problems

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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landlord advice

The city of Peoria is looking to instate of $25 annual fee for all landlords to “keep an up-to-date annual registration list. That includes names, addresses and phone numbers of all landlords.”

Currently Landlords are required to register one time, and the city council has the list and outdated. The purpose of the updated information appears to be a step towards regulating a part of town that is blighted by “Furniture sticking out of doorways, broken windows and peeling paint are not uncommon sights along the 1800 block of Martin Street.”

There’s an ordinance, that says city inspectors are supposed to inspection rental properties once every three years, but this is not happening, and they are relying on “initial landlord-tenant screening as a more up-to-date assessment of a rental property’s condition.”

Interesting that the city is relying on the landlords tenant screening program to assess the property’s condition.  The tenant screening solution should cover the criminal history, credit history, eviction history and possible employment history of the potential tenant.   The landlords should also be instituted a complex wide safety measure to reduce and eliminate crime.  Measures such as security guards (where appropriate) video cameras, and landlord walkthroughs can minimize this type of blight.  But a screening program can’t always check for the safety of the building, or the trash or abandoned furniture.  Landlords must get out in front of these problems before the problem escalates and reaches the local newspapers.  Public Relations is an preventative measure as well as crisis management.

tenant screening

background checks

Peoria tenant screening

In response to residents’ complaints, the city will forward (the owner) reports of serious incidents so he can follow through with the tenants, including evicting them if necessary. 

More than ever we are seeing communities starting to crack down on apartment complexes that seem to have a large amount of police responses.   While the efforts of the community to reduce crime are noble, it seems possible that some apartment complex owners could be scapegoated based on one or two problem tenants.  The lesson here is to avoid becoming the scapegoat bad apartment owner no matter what the actual facts are. 

Don’t want until the city council calls to you respond to complaints.  Make moves now to shore up your public relations by implementing and enforcing an effective tenant screening program that not only includes credit history checks but also a criminal history search and employment verification.  Make your efforts visible and clear to the surrounding community.  If necessary, hire security guards or install cameras to monitor activity in potential problem areas, like the parking lot, stairwells, and anywhere tenants will likely loiter.  Publicize your efforts and your community public relations will improve.  You might even be rewarded for your efforts to clean up the community.   

tenant screening
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“We think better tenant screening … should lead to less calls for police service, better tenant management and safer neighborhoods,” said Hanson, looking over the file that contained police data on problem properties spanning five years.

The ordinance will possibly be implemented later this winter.  Property owners and rental managers should be aware that tenant screening tools are readily available on the Internet, such as credit history reports and evictions records.  An advanced technology screening tool, such as Corra Group Tenant Screening service (www.corragroup.com) will help landlords satisfy their new city ordinances as well as protect them from problem tenants.

tenant screening
background checks

Tenant Screening
The association recommends both running credit history reports, criminal records searches, eviction records searches, and even verify the tenants employment and residential history. These type of searches are comprehensive tenant screening will help you avoid most problem tenants, and also avoid any negligence lawsuits should something violent happen on your premises. While criminal record searches are available in many ways, we recommend you confirm the tenants address history and check out the criminal history where they lived. Some nationwide criminal databases are more powerful in different areas, and lacking in some. Speak with your tenant screening company about the where the database searches are good, and where you may need to run a county criminal search at the court. The county criminal search takes more time, but will pull directly from the court records.

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problem tenants

“We did a full background check,” she said. “He had just gotten out of prison. That’s probably why (his girlfriend) kept it under wraps, because otherwise we probably wouldn’t have rented to him.”  “We didn’t give him authority to live there,” Albert Rodriguez said. 

He had apparently moved in with his girlfriend a few weeks before, unknown to the property management.  The girlfriend had rented the apartment and apparently passed the tenant screening; he had just gotten out of prison and would have been disqualified according to their tenant screening policy.  After several complaints of loud music, the male was shoot to death in the trailer. 

Property Managers are struggling with this all too frequent problem of shacking up with the significant other, especially if presents a danger to the residential community.  How can you monitor your tenants effectively to be aware of this potentially dangerous changes?  You could institute a policy regarding formal notification anyone staying over longer than say three days, but would any tenant effective follow the procedure.  Could you institute incentives and disincentives for not reporting?  How has time to monitor this behavior?  It could be case of Monday Morning Quarterbacking.  The trouble is for these property managers, they might be faced with a laced from other tenants for some perceived negligence.   Hopefully the property managers will come up with a successful and practice solution to this now know hole in the tenant screening process.

tenant screening
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