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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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

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Currently Landlords are required to register one time, and the city council has the list and outdated.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.

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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.   

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credit history reports
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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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“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.

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property management

As economic tensions mount, be aware of potential changes in your tenants behavior.  While your tenant and building security is top notch, and it is beyond the scope to know of a tenant’s potential for violence unless a documented violent behavior in the past has occurred.  If your tenant is arrested, if there is a police report or police called the building, make sure your security personnel write their own report documenting what happened.   You do not want to be held liable if what occurs could be construed as foreseeable.  Also, arguably, even if you could win the lawsuit, you don’t want to spend money and time on it.

Always conduct proper tenant screening to adopt a screening policy that include criminal records searches.   Better to be safe than sorry; and make sure that your tenant screening policy is consistent.

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criminal records

There has been a significant amount of what I would call hand-holding and advisory services in guiding our tenants on the choices available should they need to make a decision,” said Marc Miller, executive vice president at Winoker Realty Company, a privately-held, mid-size commercial real estate management and leasing firm in Manhattan.

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tenant reps

Tenant’s Liability

According the OC Register, some tenants believe that they don’t need renter’s insurance because they are covered by the building owner’s policy.  While the building owner’s policy covers the building, it doesn’t cover theft or kitchen fires.  Tenants are arguably liable for “any problem they create” such as a kitchen fire.  Even if your landlord doesn’t require renters insurance, it’s valuable for tenants the protect their property and the risk of a lawsuit with renter’s insurance.   Renter’s insurance should defend you should someone decide to sue you for slipping and falling inside your apartment or on your balcony.  Another little known detail is that renter’s insurance might be able to provide assistance should you be involved in a civil suit, similar to the protection provided by a home owner’s policy.   Talk to your insurance broker about the exact details of each policy.  

Landlords Benefits of Renter’s Insurance

Landlords who require renter’s insurance enjoy the benefits of having tenants who are protected, should a tenant-caused accident occur in the apartment, and it also provides a level of tenant screening, by screening out some tenants who are so strapped that they can’t afford to pay an additional  $15-20 per month.  If your tenants cannot afford this small amount, chances are they might not be able to pay the rent very soon.

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