The use of tenant screening background checks can help you avoid scams.

The idea of owning an income property and renting it out sounds very appealing. What a great way to earn extra income, and in some cases potentially have the mortgage of your property paid by the tenant’s rent money! It’s the American Dream with the added feature of a passive income stream. This is definitely possible, and many property owners have successfully accomplished this. Through a combination of excellent intuition, tenant screening by “feel” and just plain luck, there are landlords who have longtime trustworthy tenants or a series of good tenants in their properties for years without any major incident. However, this is definitely not the case for all landlords who do not use tenant screening background checks.

There are a number of pitfalls that go along with being a landlord, and there is always some risk involved. Most landlords and tenants begin as strangers to one another, and it is virtually impossible to know for sure if a person is trustworthy just based on sight, a short conversation and a handshake. Without a criminal background check it is impossible to be sure if someone has a criminal past. Possibly the biggest pitfall a landlord faces is the potential of renting to someone who rents a property with no means and often no intention of ever paying rent. The fraud often begins with a series of lies on the rental application. The lies can be about employment, income level and past residences.

For example, the scam could involve writing a big check for both the security deposit and first and last month’s rent. Then a day or two later the tenant will call you claiming to have a medical emergency in the family out of state, and needing to move away immediately to help with long term care of a relative. They will ask for a refund of their money and cash your check. Meanwhile, their original check will bounce, you could be out thousands of dollars, and the tenant will be long gone.

Another scam involves a tenant who, after the first month or two, simply stops paying rent altogether. In effect, he becomes a “squatter.” He fully expects an eviction notice and when he receives it, will sue the landlord for a fabricated reason, often “unsafe housing.” This scam artist knows “tenant rights” and the law like the back of his hand. He is an expert at working the system to his advantage. He will milk the situation by acting as his own legal counsel and filing numerous complaints, contempt charges, asking for recusals and stretching out the legal process in any way he can. Meanwhile, he could be living rent-free in your property for months or even years, often trashing the place. Meanwhile, you are accumulating stacks of legal bills, damage to your property and you have lost your peace of mind.

These types of scams can usually been avoided through the use of tenant screening background checks which include criminal court records and tenant eviction background checks. Don’t be a victim, and don’t play a guessing game with your property. Screen your rental applicants, and keep your peace of mind.

The secret to being a successful real estate investor who leases or rents property really depends on how good the tenants are. Good renters can make owning residential or commercial property enjoyable, and bad tenants can make it a nightmare. There are a few steps that every good landlord should take in order to ensure good and desirable tenants. Even commercial real estate owners, as well as city leaders are putting into place a background checks system that includes tenant screening with detailed information about each prospective renter.

In a recent article published in The Daily Northwestern, Evanston, Ill., an advocacy group designed to help residents with landlord interaction, advised tenants on lease agreements, background checks, and other agreements that are binding and routinely expected from every landlord. The group stressed that a landlord who requires background checks on prospective tenants should indicate to them that the property is taken care of and the landlord cares about the well-being of the tenants.

Prospective renters can look great in appearance, but looks can be deceiving. Tenant screening background checks will help determine facts about a tenant. You should require a detailed application from a prospective renter and get personal references and past landlord names. This information will probably be positive, and a landlord’s next step should be a full tenant screening process that includes a criminal background check.

A tenant screening background check may also include a credit report, and the landlord must get permission from the prospective renter that the check will be conducted. Obtaining a background check that includes a criminal record and an eviction record search will tell the landlord if the applicant has an eviction or criminal record and other valuable information to determine if the applicant is a desirable tenant.

Upon initializing the tenant screening process, make sure the rental application includes the prospective tenant’s personal information.  Find out about employment and other income, involvement in any pending lawsuits, landlord history including previous address and reason for leaving.

No property owner, whether residential or commercial, wants to rent their property to undesirable tenants. Never make the decision to rent based on first impressions or oral agreements. Conducting a tenant screening background check will help avoid bad renter mistakes from happening, keep your property safer, and make investment property an enjoyable and profitable experience.

EvictionRecords.com is now offering lower prices for several of our tenant screening eviction records and criminal records products.  Our site has reduced prices for some of our products (including the national eviction search and all combo background searches) by more than 60%!  The largest price cut was on the national eviction search, which now retails for only $34.95.  Combo background records enable our customers to save money when they purchase both an eviction records search and a criminal background search.

Criminal Search Lower Pricing

In addition to the lower prices of our site’s background search products, the ordering process on the site has also been upgraded to allow customers to place orders more efficiently.  The changes to our ordering process have dramatically decreased the amount of time it takes to place an order, even on orders with multiple background records selected.

EvictionRecords.com now offers a social security number (SSN) identity verification, a national eviction records search, a state eviction records search, a national criminal background search, a state criminal background search, a federal court search, and a county criminal search in all 3,143 counties in the U.S.  After orders are placed on our website, tenant screening and criminal background record search results are returned to the customer electronically for quick viewing, storing and printing.  Every order placed on EvictionRecords.com comes with a free national sex offender registry check and a search of the America’s Most Wanted List.

Our mission is to offer landlords and apartment managers comprehensive tenant screening eviction records that are affordable and easy-to-read. Our products and services help landlords and apartment managers make informed rental decisions. In addition to tenant screening, our products and services can also be used for employment background checks, pre-employment screening, and personal checks. For more information on our tenant screening and criminal background records products, please visit EvictionRecords.com.

Landlords and property managers try to avoid renting an apartment, condo, or property to a “bad” tenant. What are the risks associated with a “bad” tenant?  One type of risk is that the tenant does not pay the rent on time or at all.  Another type of risk is that the tenant damages the property.  A third type of risk is that the tenant antagonizes or causes some type of harm to the other renters.  Landlords and property managers can mitigate these risks with effective tenant screening that identifies whether a tenant has previously been evicted or has a history of criminal activity.  Tenant screening typically includes reports such as eviction searches, a national criminal background search, a social security number identity verification, and sex offender registry checks.

Tenant screening is now easier than ever with EvicationRecords.com.  Our tenant screening and criminal record search offerings include a national eviction records search, state eviction records searches, a national criminal background search, state and county criminal background search, a national sex offender registry check, and a social security number identity verification.   After orders are placed on our website, tenant screening and criminal background search results are returned to the customer electronically for quick viewing, storing and printing.  All EvictionRecords.com eviction search and background check orders come with a free national sex offender registry check, as well as a search of the FBI’s Most Wanted List.

A landlord or property manager has a responsibility to protect current residents from new residents who could damage the property or be a nuisance to their fellow residents.  Effective tenant screening helps landlords and property managers by helping them to make more informed decisions.  Please check out EvictionRecords.com landlord resources and to learn more about our tenant screening and criminal record search products.  We look forward to serving your tenant screening needs today!