Property managers are entrusted by their employers to rent only to tenants who are the most likely to respect the owner's property and pay their rent on time. Their main job is to keep the rental property filled to capacity to earn maximum income for the owner. If you are a property manager, you need to know that the best way to do this is to require background checks on prospective tenants. Background checks can provide a great deal of information that you could not possibly know without one. An example of information that a background check can provide is; social security number check, date of birth check, evictions, liens and address verification. An applicant for rental property who is trying to prevent you from seeing their actual personal information may not even give you this basic information in its true form, but they may alter their information.
As a property manager, you may feel somewhat limited in making sure that those you rent to will make good tenants. Background checks can ease your mind, knowing that you have taken every possible step to ensure that you have rented to the most qualified tenants. With a background check, you can find out if the renter has any criminal record, as well as their rental and credit histories. Chances are that you may make a very wrong choice, if you were to rent to a sex offender or felon, yet if this information is discovered before the lease is signed, you then have a better gauge of this tenant. If you skip the background screening and this did happen, the consequences could become a nightmare for you as the property manager. The fallout of a bad tenant we all know. If you have hired a company to do a background check on all tenants, you are being more responsible, and have a stronger assurance that you have made a more informed decision
As a manager, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the extra expense that background screening will cost you. Many property managers and landlords charge an application fee to cover the cost of screening. The amount of the fee depends on how much information you need to gain. In the large scope of renting or leasing, the Fee for tenant checks is nominal. In my research you can find tenant checks for a very low investment. A background check will cost, however the cost will be less than 1% of the cost to evict a bad tenant.
If you are a property manager for commercial buildings, you can still hire a company to do a background check on the business that you might rent to. This is a commercial check, and is just as important as a check on individuals renting a one bedroom apartment. A commercial background check will let you know the credit standing of a small business so you can decide if it will be a risk to lease the property to them. You will be able to discover the company's number of employees, annual sales, and information about the business owners.
In conclusion, 15 years ago, Tenant checks or background checks were harder to come by and certainly more expensive than today. In 2010, the way to security is being secure from day one. Spend a little and save a fortune with proper types of information. For a few dollars, you can sleep better at night, and save yourself time and money by doing a simple background screen.
