Best Background and Credit Check Site

[Jay Ingram]

Hi everyone,

I want to have tenants complete their own background check and screening. What is your favorite website that provides these reports to landlords?

Thanks!

Jay

[Mark Sewell]

When/if I get into the buy & rent game, Steve, I'll be calling.  

Watching new neighbors move in across the street from us, after the previous lady went through hell, trying to get her house sold -- she had not one but two sets of real bad tenants.  And this lady is a pastor!!  you'd think of all people, she'd find some good people to put in her house.  Nope, just the opposite.  They moved out, no advance warning, and trashed it.  Then she puts a band-aid fix/repair job and puts in another couple.  Happened again.  Now she's broke, running out of money to fix up her house, and nobody wants to rent it.  My handyman buddy Craig helps out, works for damn near free, but it just isn't enough.  It sits vacant for a month, and then another.  This thing is snowballing now out of control.  

Finally she lists it, for a bit too much money, but miraculously, she gets a buyer.  A month goes by, and the house won't pass inspection.  Start over, lower price slightly.  Gets a new buyer -- and now the bank is foreclosing on her.  5 months past due, no payments on the mortgage.  But since the house is under contract (and evidently the bank has enough of those already) they let her have another 3 weeks.  But it closes.  Oh wait, then it doesn't.... they were late a few days with the closing, and the bank has charged more fees.... arrgghhh.  Finally, it all worked out, as evidenced by the new neighbors moving in.

The lady prayed for me when I was battling through my first flip (which was bad, but nothing like this) and so I sincerely prayed for her to get through this -- and she did.  But wow, what a tragic story.  She shared to the world on FB the other day that all in all she lost over $40K (probably more) in fees and lost equity.  Prayer is important, but probably it should not be your main management strategy.

And this didn't have to happen.  She had a great equity position -- only owed about $75k and was renting it for $1400 a month.  Had she just spent a chunk on a competent property manager, that house would still be bringing her a few hundred bucks a month -- certainly more than zero.

This is not a paid advertisement, it is just a true story that I had to share someplace.  For me, this was a clear message from the heavens to 'not try this at home' without some help.