Social Media Content as a Tenant Background Screening Tool

[Rogelio M.]

There is plenty of material published regarding background searches on SS#s, criminal and sex offender history, judgments and liens, prior evictions, etc ...

But ... what if there were an additional tool?! ... long story short, in my area of employment, wherein background searches are frequently performed, social media content is searched on persons of interest. My experience shows that which is published by an individual on social media can be very revealing. Specialized software is available to perform these searches.

Have any landlords within BiggerPockets used social media content as a tool to screen tenants? ... If so, has any 'screening value' been derived from using social media to this end?

I would welcome a discussion / feedback on this topic.

[Nathan Gesner]

I use facebook, Google search, and sometimes even LinkedIn to gain more information on an applicant. I don't do it all the time, but I use it as an additional tool for someone that is marginal.

When a 50-year-old man with a credit score of 820 applies for one  of my rentals, I don't call his references or otherwise dig into his background because he's a sure bet. 24-year-old with a 610 credit score that just moved here to start a new job as a cook? Yeh, I'm going to look a little deeper. And if there are some red flags, I'll dive into social media to see if he's constantly waving the 5-leaf flag or partying heavy or whatever.

I won't tell him he's declined because of what I found on facebook, but it may sway my decision to reject based on something else.