Tenant Screening Tips Every Landlord Should Know

As a landlord, finding reliable tenants is critical to protecting your investment and ensuring a stress-free rental experience. Beyond the standard advice of having renters submit applications and conducting credit & background checks, I want to share some tips to elevate your tenant screening. Here are four unique tenant screening tips to help you make informed decisions:

1. Utilize Reverse Phone Lookup Tools

In today’s digital age, tools like Forewarn can provide valuable insights into prospective tenants. By conducting a reverse phone lookup, you can:

• -Verify the tenant’s identity.
• -Check for any red flags, such as prior evictions, criminal history, judgements, or foreclosures (linked to their phone number)
• -Gain additional context about their background, such as their address history.

This extra layer of screening helps you confirm the information they’ve provided and adds another level of security to your process. As an agent, I have access to Forewarn because of the dues I pay to my MLS and I've found it to be a particularly useful tool when screening tenants.

2. Check Their Social Media Profiles

Social media can offer a glimpse into a tenant’s lifestyle and habits. While it’s important to approach this step ethically and avoid making assumptions, reviewing public profiles can:

• -Confirm their employment and personal details.
• -Provide insight into their hobbies, interests, and behavior.
• -Identify any concerning patterns, such as frequent partying, signs of financial instability, or drug use.

Remember to respect privacy and focus on information that’s relevant to their ability to be a responsible tenant.

3. Pay Attention to Communication

The way a prospective tenant communicates with you can reveal a lot about their reliability and professionalism. Look for signs such as:

• Responsiveness: Are they prompt in returning calls, emails, or messages?
• Professionalism: Do they communicate respectfully and clearly?
• Organization: Are they thorough in providing requested documents and information?

Good communication is often a strong indicator of how they’ll interact with you as a tenant. 

4. Trust Your Instincts and Observations During Showings

Meeting prospective tenants in person (or via video call) during showings can provide an opportunity to observe their behavior. Pay attention to:

• Punctuality: Did they arrive on time?
• Preparedness: Do they ask thoughtful questions about the property?
• Manners: Are they respectful and courteous during the interaction?

These small details are indicators of their character and reliability.

5. Verify Employers and Addresses Thoroughly

When verifying a prospective tenant’s employment, don’t just stop at making a phone call. Take the extra step to:

• Research the employer: Ensure the company is legitimate by checking their website, LinkedIn page, or online reviews. This helps confirm the tenant’s employment claims.
• Verify the current address: Use tools like Google Maps or Google Street View to examine the employer's listed address. 

These additional checks help you confirm the accuracy of the tenant’s information and protect you from potential fraud or misrepresentation.

Final Thoughts

Screening tenants is about more than just checking their financials and criminal history. By leveraging tips like reverse phone lookup apps, reviewing social media, observing communication and behavior, and doing due diligence on the tenant's employer, you can gain a well-rounded understanding of prospective tenants. This comprehensive approach helps ensure you select tenants who will respect your property, honor their lease agreement, and contribute to a positive landlord-tenant relationship.