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[Donald Cooley]

Hi all, 

My wife and I are in the process of marketing and renting out our first income property. Is it normal to do a criminal background check along with the credit history? Just curious. I've advertised on a site called Cozy along with my advertising with our Realtor. The site charges applicants 35 dollars for a credit history and a background check. 

Just wondering if this is overdoing it or par for the course. Any advise will be helpful. 

Thanks

[Michael Noto]

you are not overdoing it. Perform a credit, criminal, eviction check on all prospective tenants. Also you should absolutely make them pay for the background check. Helps weed out the tire kickers. 

As I am sure other investors on here will tell you, other than buying the property right tenant screening is probably the next most successful factor in having long term success in rental real estate.  

Best of luck.