How to screen a tenant

Question

when screening a tenant what are some of the big red flags to look for? also what is the preferred credit score to look for in a tenant?

Paul Ronto · Answer

I agree with Alex, credit is not the only telltale factor. You should be pulling credit on all prospective tenants, but you should also pull a cross-referenced criminal and eviction report so you have the full picture of anything on their official background.

Unofficially, you should call employers and past landlords. Red flags right off the bat include anyone who stresses they can move in today, good tenants plan well in advance. People who boast about being the best tenant ever, usually are not... Anyone who refuses to submit a formal application or allow you to pull credit, criminal or eviction reports.

Some landlords like to look in the car of prospective tenants, how you treat your car can be a lot like how you treat your house, I don't personally do this but I know others that do. No references is a red flag too.

My advice is to set your minimum acceptance criteria and post that in your property listing, it will weed some of the unsavory tenants out right away, the rest, just be sure to be vigilant as you do your screening, don't be rushed or made to feel like you should skip any of your steps if they threaten to lease another property unless you move things along...

Paul Ronto · Answer

Feel free to reach out directly if you have questions @Andrew McIntyre , happy to help where I can.

Jonathan Twombly · Answer

@Andrew McIntyre  Make sure that you screen for sex offender status, as prospective tenants will often search this database and not rent if there is an offender on the property.  (We actually do this as part of our due diligence.)

Whatever criteria you use, make sure that it is consistent from tenant to tenant and documented.  If you reject a tenant, and they turn around and accuse you of discriminating against them, you need to have documented proof that they were subjected to the same screening process as everyone else and they did not meet the standard criteria.  (You do not need to publicize this criteria, unless you just want it to be clear up front.)

Drawing up a checklist and keeping it in each applicant's file is a good idea.  Keep the rejected tenants' files for a standardized period of time before disposing.  (Find out whatever the statute of limitations is for discrimination claims, and keep for at least that long.)

Standardized, consistently applied to all applicants, and well-documented.  These are the three essentials for staying out of trouble under anti-discrimination law.

Linda S. · Answer

@Andrew McIntyre,

Another red flag is if they move jobs, or apartments often-- likely because they are hard to work with, or hardheaded-- both things I don't want to deal with.   We like at least 6-months continual employment.

We also state we need a positive current and previous landlord reference, some have pointed out that if it's a bad tenant, the current landlord will give a positive reference to just get them off your back, so it's good to check history!

Lastly, if someone wants it "tomorrow" or "next week!" it's a major red flag-- it means they are probably getting evicted, and you don't want to deal with someone like that.   If someone comes in saying "we can pay X months rent upfront"-- big red flag, tells me they don't see their income as stable, and may move after those months... or they are doing sketchy stuff and won't want you to have any reason to come by!

Also, 3x income to rent is the minimum... Ideally, I like to see 4-6x!

Paul Ronto · Answer

@Andrew McIntyre I don't think you need to hire this out. If you do the screening well, you should end up with a good tenant. It's a bit of work up front but then can be fairly easy after you get people moved in. Again this all hinges on finding the right tenants.

If you go the management route you'll be giving up 8-10% of your monthly rent, which you can keep with a small amount of effort, especially with the tools provided, it shouldn't be overwhelming.

Let me know if you have specific questions, always willing to help.

Mindy Jensen · Answer

@Andrew McIntyre , our very own Brandon Turner wrote an  excellent, epic article about tenant screening.

Something I like to do is print out my criteria for acceptance and put it in a picture frame standing up next to the applications so prospective tenants know what I'm looking for - but don't take the only page I have. This helps them screen themselves - many won't even bother applying to a landlord who has such an "official-looking" criteria.

Alexander Zurn · Answer

@Andrew McIntyre a lot of great screening can be done over the phone before you even pull credit and check their background. Check this article out!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/4-steps-pre-screen-prospective-tenants-phone/?utm_source=newsletter

Some red flags: eviction on their background check, bad mouthing previous landlords, not providing photo ID, hurrying the process, saying they will provide two months rent up front, bad gut feeling

Credit score - depends on the tenant you are looking for/advertising for. Anywhere from 680 - 810 can be good but "good" tenants could have a "bad" credit score, it will come down to more than that. There are some other great articles on this I would suggest searching through the Blog posts

Good luck!

Andrew McIntyre · Answer

@Linda D. Awsome information thank you!.

@Jonathan Twombly I'll definitely keep that in mind! Thank you!

What would you do if say some one was looking to rent for their first time? or if they were graduating a school of some sort and relocating to a new city with no previous rental history?

Andrew McIntyre · Answer

@Paul Ronto Thank you!

Andrew McIntyre · Answer

@Paul Ronto Very good advice thank you! I really like the car idea aswell.

@Mindy Jensen That is a good idea, It would definitely help not having to repeat myself over and over when the time comes. and that is a very helpful article!

@both- would it be worth just going the property management route? since I'm working a full time job and I plan on the property to be multifamily

How to screen a tenant

Most Popular Reply