First Come Applications, Then Come Screenings

The more gas I put in my car, the farther it will go.

 This is a simple example of correlation, a term you probably had to review during your grade school days. Basically, if...then... Whether you know it or not, it’s a term that affects you often when you manage rental properties.

• When cost of maintenance increases, rent fees increase.

• The more appliances that are included in your units, the more maintenance that will be required.

• And when you use property management software to accept applications online, it’s understood that the next step you want to take is order a background check and screening.

If you couldn’t tell already from the title, it’s this last bullet point that I want to address.

Applications allow you to obtain information about potential residents to determine if they will be a good fit for your property. A background check and screening verifies the truth of this information and calculates it for you. Here’s how-

1. Screenings pull up the debt to income ratio using open credit lines and other factors.

2. You can also see if the applicant is listed on any criminal or terrorist records.

3. If any evictions have been filed against the applicant it will be listed on the screening report.

4. Depending on the screening package you order, you can also get employment verification along with checks on their references.

5. When you use Smart Screenings, you have access to Smart Score, which uses a mathematical algorithm to assign them a rating similar to a credit score, but that uses a lot more factors.

Accepting applications, running background checks and screenings, both are an important part of being a landlord. Don’t have one without the other.