Important Tenant Background Search Considerations

An eviction record search and a criminal history search are two of the factors to look into during the tenant background search process.

The tenant background search process is essentially the last line of defense for landlords to help make sure that they fill vacancies with individuals who are most likely to be good tenants. The tenant background search process is designed to give landlords an idea of not only the past rental history of the person in question, but also a general idea of the type of tenant they will be. Eviction records are an extremely helpful resource. If you want to make sure that you’re getting the most valuable information during the process, you’ll want to take into account a few other considerations, such as a prospective tenant’s criminal history, credit score, and debt.

Criminal History

One of the most important considerations that you can make regarding a potential applicant is their criminal history. A landlord or property manager is responsible for providing a safe living environment for all of his or her tenants. To identify potential problem tenants, it is always important to do a detailed criminal history search as part of the tenant background search process.

Credit Score

The credit score is one of the most valuable pieces of data that a landlord can receive during the tenant background search process. Remember that a credit score can be a snapshot of a person’s entire financial life and will go above and beyond a simple rental history. Just because a potential tenant may have paid their rent on time for years doesn’t necessarily mean that they are on stable financial ground. If a potential tenant has a poor credit history, there may come a time where they begin paying rent late or not at all.

Debt

Another important consideration to make during the tenant background search process involves the many different types of debt that a person has accrued over the years. During the application process, it is likely that you also become aware of the total amount of income a person has, as part of the employment and salary verification. If you see the type of debt a person has accrued and can also see that they don’t necessarily have enough money to keep up with their bills for very long, you suddenly have valuable insight into a person’s situation that the credit score alone wouldn’t have told you.

In summary, there are several key considerations to take into account during the tenant background search process. These considerations, which include eviction records, national criminal record search, credit score, criminal history, and type of debt, will help a landlord to increase the odds of renting to a good tenant.