44.1 million American households rent rather than own their homes. Although many tenants respect the property they're renting, others damage rental properties and fail to pay rent on time.
If you want to ensure you get good tenants for your property, you need to perform tenant background checks. A background check will help verify the reliability of a potential tenant and help ensure that your investment will be taken care of.
Here's how to conduct a tenant background check in Menifee, California.
Request Tenant Consent
The first step to getting a tenant background check is to obtain the tenant's consent to do so. You need to notify them that you'll perform a background check on them. Generally, they'll need to agree first for you to perform a background check legally.
As part of the tenant screening process, you may want to request consent on a rental application. This will make it easy to get the consent you need.
Use a Screening Service
The next thing to do when performing a background check is to choose a screening service to use. You'll need to find a company that performs background checks on tenants and ensure they're reputable and trustworthy.
Make sure that you know the type of background checks they'll perform whether that is a credit, criminal, or rental history check. Be sure to read some reviews on the service and verify that they have a strong reputation before you decide to use them for your new rental property.
Review the Report
Once a background check has been performed by the screening service, you need to review it carefully. Carefully check whether the tenant has any felony or misdemeanor convictions that indicate high risk. You should also check their eviction history to see if they have had good relationships with previous landlords.
Also, make sure to verify a tenant's employment status and evaluate their income. This will help you ensure they can pay rent on time and afford the property you'll be leasing to them.
Ask for References
In addition to performing a background check on a tenant through a screening service, consider asking them for references. Getting references from employers can help you verify the tenant's current employment status. Landlord references can also be useful and can allow you to find out how the applicant behaved as a tenant and whether they maintained a positive relationship with their previous landlords.
Choosing tenants with good references from the very beginning is essential to managing landlord stress and ensuring your investment is protected.
Performing a Tenant Background Check
If you're leasing your investment property and want to get reliable rental income, be sure that you choose great tenants. Perform a tenant background check to find out more about a tenant's rental history, employment status, and credit. Also, be sure to obtain tenant consent before performing a background check on them.
If you need help with tenant screening in Menifee, CA, consider working with PMI Warranted. As a family-owned property management company, we're dedicated to providing the very best service to our clients and helping them achieve their investment goals.
Ready to find the perfect tenants for your property? Need landlord advice? Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
