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Do you rent out apartments? If you do, it’s vital you select your renters carefully. You don’t have to rent an apartment to anyone who shows interest. Before doing so, investigate all prospective tenants. Who you do business with can impact your property value, your profits, and your safety. It seems reasonable to get some personal information about a tenant before any investigation. A very detailed rental application form looks like the best option to begin with On a rental application, request that all of the information be recent. This consists of first, middle, and last name, the address you live now, phone number, email, and so on.
Then find out if the person has ever been arrested and ask for information about prior residences and jobs. There needs to be a place where a person applying can put down contact information if people wish to verify the information that they have given. You should get names and contact information for previous landlords and the current employer, as well as personal references. It is very important that you protect your finances and property, you will need to make sure you check all the references they provide you. Use your precious time to get in touch with previous landlords. They will most likely tell you the truth. It is important that the new renter pay their rent on time and respects your property.
An additional reason for checking out every new renter is safety. Not just your own, but the safety of the other tenants and those living nearby. You may not know this, but if a sex offender moves in next to a family with small children, you may be held legally liable. You can be. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t know either. As a rental agent, it is your job to be informed of these matters. Imagine the possible consequences if they have a criminal past you were unaware of. You can easily check this using public arrest records online on the Internet. In addition to contacting all personal and professional references, perform a background check.
Online, it is easy to find many companies that offer these checks for an affordable fee. In most states, public records can be searched for free at local or state offices. This is an easy way to search foreclosure listings, civil lawsuits, and criminal-records. For extensive background checks, some companies will not perform the check without having an individual’s social security number. As a landlord, this puts you in a tough position. It is true that a thorough check on all tenants should be done, but they are also vulnerable to indentity theft.
With you having their social security number, could you be blamed? If you are not willing to take the risk, have hopeful tenants perform their own background checks. You shouldn’t ask every potential tenant to do his or her own background check. Once you have narrowed the list down to one or two people, make the request. Do this after first speaking with personal references, employment references, and former landlords. If your tenant is worried about the costs, offer reimbursement. After all, background checks can be expensive.
Your main goal is to protect your own interests. Just verify the background check is legitimate by contacting the company who performed it. In most cases, a family moves into an apartment or a group of friends. In these cases, you want to do more than just investigate the person whose name will be on the lease. You do not need to perform a background check on or investigate children, but do so for all adults in the household. Now that you know how you can get a free background check on anyone, why should you? Whether you perform your own investigation or buy a professional background check, time and money will be spent.
As a landlord, you are a business owner. Consider it a wise business investment. After all, do you want a couple convicted of selling drugs or a sexual predator renting the apartment next to a long-term renter that has a family?
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