As a property management company in California, we get this question from rental property owners all the time: “How do I screen my tenants?”
Real estate investors and property managers in the Bay Area and Greater Sacramento face some of the toughest challenges in the world when it comes to finding good renters for their properties. John May of Real Property Management Select describes common mistakes made by rental property owners when screening their tenants.
One of the most common questions asked by rental property investor is, “How do I screen my tenants?”. Which is a fabulous question. One of the things we’ve heard from numerous owners is they post a Craigslist ad, they get a great response, they have a great rapport with a nice couple or an individual. They feel good about that person. They feel he’s a hard worker and a nice guy. So they move forward with a lease.
A few months later… horror stories arise.
Another common story is renting to a family member. I hear, “I’m going to rent it to a family member, it’s my nephew. We’re going to give him a break on the rent, but we know he’s going to take care of the property.”
One of the things we do here at Real Property Management Select is a 5 Point Tenant Screening Program.
This includes:
- Credit check
- Rental history and landlord verification
- Income and employment verification
- We ensure they have no evictions on record
- Nationwide criminal background check
Most property management companies only perform a simple credit check. That is only one leg of the determining factors we look at.
All of these steps are very crucial in properly screening your tenant. You can see why the “Eh, he feels like a good guy,” screening method doesn’t seem to work.
For more information about how Real Property Management Select can advise rental property owners on how to screen your tenants, visit www.norcalpm.com to learn more. Thank you.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
