Tenant Screening Reccomendations

[Joseph Cornwell]

Calling all landlords,

I would love to get feedback on what other landlords are using for tenant screening services. Company or service referrals, cost, pros, cons? I will be renting both units in my first duplex in the near future and I plan on using a professional screening service for background, credit, and criminal history. Has anyone had issues with good tenants paying an application fee? I am in the Cincinnati, Ohio market. Thank you for your input!

[Jim Shepard]

I have been using "tenantbackgroundsearch.com" to screen my tenants. They have 3 different levels that they will do different checks. I use the mid price search @ $23 a person which checks their credit & criminal history. I just charge the tenant the cost of the check & all of them know they have to pay something. Make sure each person signs giving you permission to do the check.

[Joseph Cornwell]

@Jim Shepard I appreciate your input, I will check them out.

[Dawn P.]

I use Cozy, and am very happy with it. I had a lady apply Saturday afternoon, I got notification from Cozy a couple hours later - clean credit and background check. She signed the lease and moved in this week.

I do take the application fee ($39.99) off the first month's rent if everything checks out and they sign the lease.

[Joseph Cornwell]

@Dawn P. I just spent some time checking out the features of Cozy. How much control do you have over the application the tenants will fill out? Also, does Cozy do any employment or reference screening, or do they just provide what the applicant gives them for the landlord to screen? Do you use their rent payment program for your tenants? Any feedback on that aspect? Thank you so much!

[Blair F.]

Joseph Cornwell I use Cozy as well. I have tenant fill out Cozy application and also require they submit PDF copy of photo ID and last two pay-stubs. I call the prior landlord, confirm employment, etc and have Cozy do background check. Also since tenant has to create Cozy account to apply, once they are accepted I set up lease length in Cozy and tenant just has to set up/confirm online payment through them. Has worked great, all online.

[Tyler Weaver]

I use buildium's credit/background check. It is probly a fairly standard featureset. I have not had any problems with my $25 per adult application fee. 

They do not check references or verify employment. I do that part. 

[Gail K.]

I use Clearscreening.    Credit checks are $14.95.   For local applicants I also use our online Marshals Service (this is the law enforcement agency that handles notices for evictions) to confirm that applicants have NOT been evicted (unfortunately, many tend to lie about this on their application).   I also check online property records to confirm the landlord that applicants have put down IS the actual owner of the property (another common lie).  Once burned, twice wary.

I do both of the above prior to running any credit check.   If either information is incorrect...or the application is not complete I simply send the information back to the applicant and do not continue working with them.  Again, it is not unusual that applicants who have previously been evicted will simply avoid answering this question, figuring "no answer" is neither a lie nor a confirmation of a prior eviction.   However, an incomplete application is grounds for denial to rent to them.

Online screening services are good but they often do not tell the entire story.

Gail

[Josh Vasquez]

i used rentec for the first time this month. They pulled credit and eviction history for about $18. For background I simply pulled their information through the local and surrounding county municipal sites. I do call their past landlord but not the current one, I call the one before that, because that guy is not trying to sell you a tenant just to get them out of their house/complex. 

[Christine Mwai]

Pick or choose your online site for  credit and background check. It's usually $29-39 for both. On the reference check, employment check, rental history check....I make those calls personally. Well worth the time of not having a problem tenant. Here is an example, I called the work place listed on the application that I had received 4 days before. The application was true.. he was let go of the day of my call.... literally a few hours before I called. Is that good information to have?

[Kayla W.]

@Joseph Cornwell This is Kayla, from Cozy's support team. I know you were looking for some input on other landlords’ experiences with Cozy, so I’ll leave that part up to them and answer a couple of your questions here about our screening process. Cozy’s application isn’t currently customizable, although you could request supplemental information outside of Cozy as well. Our service doesn’t verify employment or references, but we do ask applicant for contact information for references. I’ll let our users fill you in with their thoughts on the process itself and their experiences with Cozy!

[Mark Buskuhl]

Criminal, eviction and credit through TransUnion with www.mysmartmove.com. Tenants trust the site and pay direct online. I opt for the premium $35 report which includes everything and require all adult occupants to use. Preferred application is the state Realtor association form.

[James Barnhart]

I also use mysmartmove.com.  All I need to get from the applicant is their name and an email address.  The applicants are emailed by the service and they ask the applicants for all of the info tjat they need to do the proper screening.  The applicants pay for the screening themselves when they go online to start the screening.  Then, the service emails me with income info and the recommendation to rent or not rent to them.

[Dawn P.]

@Joseph Cornwell  This is my first time using the online payments at Cozy, but it was really easy to set up. Choose your lease length, rent amount, and it sends an invite to your tenant to set up payments. I've heard that it takes a few days to transfer into your account (you can pay a premium to get it faster), but I don't mind that. 

[Dawn P.]

And apparently I don't know how to do the @ thing yet...sorry.

[Jason Hartley]

I also use Rentec Direct - excellent tenant screening services.

[Joseph Cornwell]

Thank you all very much for your thoughts, I have a ton of ideas now for screening my tenants. I look forward to publishing all the particulars on the property, the rehab, and the tenant placement after I am finished. Again, this is my first rental property, but I am confident I will succeed with all of the information I have gathered from Biggerpockets over the past 18 months! You guys are amazing!

[Penny Clark]

@Joseph Cornwell, First, Congrats on the purchase of your property! All the screening services mentioned by those above are a good start to help you view an applicant's financial story on paper - do they pay on time? Can they afford your rent with their existing debt are a few things these reports reveal. However, do not rely specifically on these services to do rental history screening or income verification; although some, like Cozy, will screen for eviction records, these often only come up if a money judgement was filed. Develop a system for getting previous and current landlord contact information from the applicant when they apply. For example, have your applicant provide a signed consent for you to check rental history. Most private landlords and property management companies won't release that information without the applicant's permission. You can easily get that signed consent when you meet applicants at the showing. This also serves as a screening device to filter out the deadbeats who do not want to be checked.

Next, verify income however you can - bank statements, wage stubs, tax records (self employed or independent contractors), award letters, etc, and try not to blush when you ask for these documents. As a business landlord, it is imperative you verify income. Never take stated income at its word or trade rent discounts for repairs done by the tenant. 

Most serious tenants know they are going to be screened and must pay a fee for it. For those applicants who don't make the cut, take the sting out by offering to give them a copy of the credit report you ran so they get something for their money. 

Good luck and do share your experience with the community!

[Joseph Cornwell]

@Penny Clark

Thank you for your detailed information! I plan on screening very stringently and doing all of the suggestions you made. I made sure to buy in a high demand rental market, I should be ready to rent in early march, I hope to have a ton of demand.  

[Andrew Flanagan]

Also, go to the top tool bar of the site and click Tools > Tenant Screening. Lots of useful info!

[Craig H.]

@Joseph Cornwell I used My Smart Move and it was very easy to use.  The reports that come back are easy to follow.  Before I let prospective tenants view the apartment I conduct a phone interview first.  Once the phone interview is complete, I check all social media of the prospective tenant.  You'll really see how your tenants live when you look through their social media.  If they check all those boxes we will view the apartment. If all goes well, I will give them the rental application and collect the rental app fee.  I have not had any issues with the rental app fee.  If the tenant wants the apartment and as the landlord you want them as a tenant they shouldn't balk at paying the app fee.  Any tenant that balks at paying a small app fee may not be the tenant you want to rent to in the first place.  Once I have the app back I will call the current employer to verify employment and salary.  I will then call previous landlords (if applicable).  So far these processes have worked well for me.  See you tomorrow at the meetup!      

[Josue Feliciano]

Jim Shepard i did not know such a thing existed, thanks for the info. That will surely help me in the future 🙏

[Andrew Johnson]

Hi Joseph,

I'm also a native Ohioan, I've been using TenantMagic for a while now. Great customer service, easy to use, and free to agent. Highly suggest checking them out.

[Sergio Luna]

Screening rentals

[Jean Witty]

As stated, income verification is highly important and you definitely should use a company that digitally verifies employment, income, cash flow, and assets. Finret.com sends you a digital report of the tenant's income so you can better assess their ability to pay on-time. 

[Joseph Cornwell]

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. Almost exactly one year later, I can report I chose Cozy.co for my tenant screening. It is a little bit more expensive (tenants pay), but they provide a credit report, eviction, criminal history, references, job history. So it makes the screening process very easy for landlords to do a thorough job. What I like most is that tenants can then set up automatic rent payments through their bank accounts after being approved. Both of my units pay automatically online, I never collect rent. I know on the 1st of the month if the payment was made, and I get a direct deposit a few days later. Cozy has been amazing for me, and so far the past 9 months or so my tenants have been amazing also. I hope all of you have found the same success this past year!

Joe Cornwell