Reasons Why Landlords Screen Tenant Applicants

Reasons Why Landlords Screen Tenant Applicants

As a landlord, you definitely want to protect your hard-earned investment. And so finding great tenants is what most landlords are praying to have. But finding a good tenant is not that easy as what you think it is. There are some risks if you fail to screen your potential tenants properly. Serious issues can be avoided if you conduct proper tenant screening. Here we will share some reason why landlords screen potential tenants and the steps most landlords normally do.

Tenant screening is a process that landlords and property managers use to evaluate the potential tenant. It helps landlords to analyze the risk that an applicant might make any damage to the property, fail to pay rent, create trouble or do something else that might not be good to the landlord's interest.

Most landlords pay tenant screening companies’ services to check on their potential tenant for the most following reasons:

• Some landlords want to check the credit report of the potential tenant to see the current financial situation and how much is the capability of paying rent on time.
• To see if a tenant has a past eviction history
• To check and evaluate, if an applicant has any criminal history to protect the community and your property
• Some landlords also check the residential references, to find out from previous landlords
  • if his/her potential tenant paid their rent on time
  • if they were careful of the property
  • if they were a good tenant

What are the basic steps that landlords often do when screening tenants:

• Communication. Tenants and landlords communicate first and talk about the availability and more information about the unit.
• Schedule showing of the apartment unit and to meet each party in person. 
• When a landlord likes the prospective tenant and vice versa, application to rent is what landlords do next. To make things easier for both parties, landlords just send an online application which is part of the tenant screening.
• After landlords get the result, this is the time that landlords decide either approval or gently decline a specific applicant tenant.
• Explanation and signing of the lease agreement is the last step.  

If you’re looking for a full-service tenant screening service, check out Smart Housing Platforms who provides a reputable Smart Screening service and multiple products on the market, which helps property management life easier. Our tenant screening services provide not only the credit score of your potential tenant but more services such as single and multi-state criminal records, eviction records, employment verification &, etc. It provides a great service for landlords who want an affordable and easy to use screening service. Prices start at just $19.95.