Credit Checks

[Jennifer Wiggins]

I'm a brand new investor in Alabama. I have purchased 2 homes to rent out and almost all the work on these houses are complete. My question is what company is a good one to run the credit/criminal check with?  I just want to start out stromg with good tenants.

Thanks in advance 

Jennifer

[Marc M.]

@Jennifer Wiggins I read through a number of forum posts on this subject a couple weeks ago before renting a SFH that I am managing for another investor. Many people on BP suggested MySmartMove.com and I tried them out. It was very easy to set up and I had the tenant pay their own screening fee through the website (which also helps weed people out who aren't very serious). Other's mentioned Experian.com, but I had trouble registering on that site for some reason.

I also have potential renters fill out an online rental application prior to viewing the property that asks standard questions about income, employment, evictions, etc. I just make google form and email them the link after they inquire about my craigslist ad. Again, this is a barrier for some people the moment they have to disclose their income and how long they've been at their current job. For this particular property, I had it listed for 1.5 weeks and had about 7 inquires and 2 people filled out the google docs application and 1 person followed through with the background check...and that was all I needed! I qualified a great tenant and signed a year lease.

Good luck! I'm sure it will work out great.