Is it normal to do a criminal back round check on prospective tenants ?   

Insurance, finger print, some times criminal background check and a sponsor whom you wish to pay him under his brokerage. 

When I am in the process of buying a multimillion dollar deal, I would rather not leave that up to chance that someone in a forum, on YouTube, or on a podcast is going to thoroughly answer my questions and help me solve my problems (no offense BP... lol). 

Set a standard for tenants (such as minimum credit score, no past evictions, clean criminal record, etc) and do not sway from this standard.

I cannot tell you how awesome it is to have a guy like you on here keeping us oblivious (no offense to you Marc, I speak for myself here!)

Here's a statement you will likely find on every credit/criminal background check:You are hereby advised that all information in the report is confidential and may not be disclosed by you to any person other than Applicant, and then, only in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).Just because the Landlord hires someone as the agent doesn't change anything.

Keep in mind with that conservative approach you want to be bidding offensively low, just to see if you can spend the full daily budget.

on the property because the owner is liable for restitution in a criminal case;4.

Some of the business dealings described go as far as criminal behavior and fraud.

First of all, I always do full credit and criminal background checks, and verify their rental history with previous landlords.