In this Video:

  • Tips for verifying rental history with past landlords
  • Discover why eviction history reports are the crux of the tenant screening
  • How to conduct a thorough employment screening

It’s one minute long. Stop reading and just watch the dang thing!

 

To embed this video, use the following code: <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://sparkrental.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Subtle-Red-Flags-in-Tenant-Screening.mp4″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Peeling the Onion

Sure, you pull credit and criminal reports, but that only gets you so far. What else do you need to know about prospective tenants?

First, a few words on the limitations of credit reports. Credit reports are extremely useful, but they don’t tell you everything you need to know about a prospective tenant. Tenant credit reports will show you the applicant’s payment history for their bills, which is a helpful piece of the puzzle. But they don’t tell you whether they’ve ever had evictions filed against them. Credit reports don’t tell you what kind of employee the applicant is, whether they’re likely to be fired, or exactly how much they earn. And unless the last landlord reported rent payments to the credit bureaus, credit reports don’t tell you whether they paid their rent on time.

Lucas Hall, founder of Landlordology, chatted with us about tenant screening and some of the subtle signs that an applicant may not be the boy scout he says he is. One of Lucas’s secret ninja methods for screening tenants? Insisting on two prior landlord references. “The applicant’s current landlord might say anything to get rid of them,” Lucas explains. “But the prior landlord will know how the property was left after the tenant vacated, and will be able to describe any deposit disputes.”

Related Article Read: Best Ways To Find Pre-Foreclosure Listings.

Related Article Read: What is driving for dollars.

Evictions, Employment, Embellishments

Landlords and property managers should also run eviction history reports, instead of just relying on credit reports and criminal background checks. Eviction history is in some ways more important than either credit or criminal backgrounds – it gets to heart of whether the rental applicant has been a bad tenant in the past.

If everything checks out, the landlord should then call up the applicant’s direct supervisor. What kind of employee are they? Do they show up for work on time every day? Do they habitually slink in hung over and reeking of Mad Dog 20/20? How much responsibility are they entrusted with? What are the chances they will still be working there in a year from now?

If the supervisor gives glowing feedback about the applicant, ask to be transferred to the human resources department. Confirm exactly when the applicant started work there, and exactly how much money they make. How do these compare to what the applicant stated on their rental application?

Applicants who lie about little things on their rental application may well be lying about big things, too. And they are starting the relationship on a foundation of lies; a terrible sign if there ever was one.

Stay tuned for more 60-Second ROI Boost videos!

Have any tips for advanced tenant screening? Nightmare tenant stories? Pearls of wisdom you’d care to share? We love hearing from readers… share in the Comments section below!

Related Article Read: Everything you need to know about due diligence in real estate.

Related Article Read: Should I Transfer the Title on My Rental Property to an LLC?

 

More Tips, Tricks & Education:

Want to create passive income?

 

We’ll email a series of videos in our free course,

to help you start earning income from rentals.

[mc4wp_form id=”501″]

Privacy Policy: Your info will never be shared or sold to a 3rd party. Even if Dr. Evil offers us 1 million dollars 🙂

Free Mini-Course: Passive Income from 2-4 Unit Multifamilies

Free Mini-Course: Passive Income from 2-4 Unit Multifamilies

 

Ready to build passive income from small multifamily properties?

Over the next week, we'll email you a free series of videos, so enter your best email and let's get started!

You're in! Check your email to confirm, and you can email us directly at [email protected] with any questions :-)

Free Webinar: Earn 15-50% on Passive Real Estate Syndications

LIVE masterclass on Tues. 10/25 @ 8pm EST

Your seat is reserved! Check your email to confirm.

Inside a group real estate investment

Here's a quick video breakdown of a past group investment — and how it's performed since our Co-Investing Club invested in it in early 2023.

You got it! Check your email for the link, and some other fun freebies.

Ready to Build Passive Income?

Ready to Build Passive Income?

 

We'll email you the course videos over the next week, so enter your best email!

You're in! Check your email to confirm.

Ditch Your Day Job: Free 8-Video Course

 

Our brand new course on how to reach financial independence and retire early (FIRE) with rental properties is open for one week from Oct. 23-30!

You're in! Check your email for the link, or click here for the 1st video!

How do group real estate investments work?

If you want the cash flow, appreciation, and tax benefits of real estate without hassling with loans or landlording, learn how to invest passively. 

Awesome! Check your email :-)

learn private equity real estate investing

Hack the Rich: 7 Secrets We've Learned from Private Equity Real Estate

In a live online meetup, we'll be sharing and discussing 7 secrets we've learned from the rich over the last few years of investing in private equity real estate syndications.

Awesome! Check your email :-)