Any screening tips for tenants you highly recommend using???

Question

Hello!

I have a 5 Unit building that we are currently rehabbing and this is my first rental! Does anyone have some screening tips or must adds that I should include in mine for new tenants??

Anything would be appreciated!

Christen G. · Answer

Congrats on the purchase!
Most important thing: get to know your city and state laws about Protected Classes - that is a big one when screening.

The screening process I use (that hasn't failed me once in 8 placements) I got out of Heather/Brandon Turner's book (The Book on Managing Rental properties) and combined it with "Landlording on Autopilot" (Mike Butler). In short, we place the add everywhere, get the responses (often - these responses tell you a lot) and then I ask that the potential renter to call me at a specific day/time. I also tell them that I'm showing the unit 2 days after that call. I do this for 2 reasons: first, I line up all the potential tenants in 5-10 min increments and knock it all out in less than an hour and second: it weeds out the tire-tickers. People serious about moving will make 3 min in their schedule to do a, "short 2-3 min screening call."

If they call I ask them all the same questions:

What will be the number of People in Household:
What is your desired Move in date:

At this point I let the potential tenant know, 'as you saw in the ad our MINIMUM QUALIFICATION STANDARDS are: strictly financial:"

• 2.5x income to rent ratio (most important).
• Credit score: 600 (or better).
• Low or no delinquent payments, collections, or bad debt
• 1 positive (recent) landlord referral - preferably 2.
• Proof of employment (2 recent pay stubs).
• No evictions
• No tenant/landlord court records

Then I ask the real questions (again - check your local laws):

Do you have a steady source of income?

What is your monthly household income?

What is your credit score?

Do you have a checking and savings account? Are you comfortable completing a background check?

Have you ever been evicted or been given eviction notice?

Are you comfortable with us obtaining references from your past landlords?

Will you receive great references from your past landlords?

Does anyone in your household have any pets:

How many vehicles do you own?

Does anyone in your household smoke?

If you are approved, when will you have first months rent and the deposit available?

Why are you moving?

Remember - simple questions should have simple answers. It's AMAZING what tenants will tell you during this process. If the tenant meets your criteria let them know when you're showing it (again, try to line them all up together) and follow up with an email with the address, date and time you're show it. They should bring (or ideally send ahead of time) paycheck stubs, landlord references and whatever else you require. If they don't qualify let them know you're taking screening calls "all day" and will be in touch with viewing dates/times.

Good luck!

Mike C. · Answer

I've been using The Bigger Pockets Guide to Tenant Screening (https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2013-01-27-tenant-screening) plus the below screening tools and it has worked out well for me.

• Credit score of 600 or higher.  I prefer 650.
• Look at their vehicles.  If they don't take care of their vehicle, they aren't going to take care of the rental.
• Do a Google search to see if anything shows up on the internet.
• Check their driving record.  If they don't abide by state and local laws, they aren't going to abide by landlord/tenant laws.
• Ask for copies of their most recent utility bills.  This doesn't show up on a credit report but if it's late, it'll show it there.
• Check for inaccurate information on the rental application.  Some people will go to extreme measures to cover up a spotty rental record, such as providing a friend a burner phone and having them pose as their last landlord, printing up fake business cards, etc.

Harry Gamble · Answer

@Alex Coke set your criteria and as Eric Allen said, be consistent. There are plenty of plaintiff attorneys who would take a case of a person in a protected class who is rejected in a case where it doesn’t look like the same criteria was applied to them, as of course it should be. Don’t lose or not be able to provide documents that show you are being consistent across the board with applicants.

Isaiah Williams · Answer

@Alex Coke

While going over application, if you can try going out to wherever they currently live and drive past it to see the condition of the home. Is the lawn mowed? Trash in the yard? Broken blinds In the window? Does it looks like someone is trashing the building where they live? How the property they currently are living in is how your property will look within a few short months of them moving in so make sure it's something you are OK with!

Eric Allan · Answer

Talk to your lawyer about this. One thing I'm sure s/he will advise you is to make sure all of your procedures are consistent. If you're going to run a background check on one applicant, make sure you run a background check on all applicants. If you ask for photo i.d. on one, do it for all. Etc., etc.

Sher J. · Answer

What I found for my rental was to make applicants complete a pre- screening before you even show them the place. This way no one spends wasted time. In the document I ask, credit score range, prior evictions, monthly income and how many ppl are estimated to live in the space. Based off the criteria I have and what they have said (they could have lied) I then move forward with them checking out the place (open house style). If they are interested, I give them a complete application (asking for paystubs and bank statements) and then run background, credit and eviction history. Let me know if you have any additional questions!

Any screening tips for tenants you highly recommend using???

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