But I don't know if any of those screening companies actually check with previous landlords either - I suspect they only pull credit and criminal and verify employment.The best approach, depending on your # of units and time available, might be a hybrid - do the quick and easy checks yourself, and then only if someone passes those, turn it over to a screening company to complete the rest.For example, in my state it's free to do a criminal check - one of the few things my state gets right btw :) So I'm usually checking that within a half hour of getting the application.

Did you guys set up any kind of password/user agreement to shield yourself from any potentially illegal cyber activities?

Further, that there were entire courses and clubs dedicated to teaching these criminals how to con you out of your house, your money, and your first born child and run away before you knew what hit you.

The credit check is pretty generic but does give you a score and it has found criminal and eviction records for me in the past. 

His criminal and credit history are borderline but passable.He says that he really wants to buy the whole duplex but would like to rent one of the apartments for a year first.

Everyone knows Detroit is only filled with criminals and corrupt politicians. 

For a criminal background check, go back 5 or 10 years.For residential history, 3 years should be fine.If someone is starting a new job when they come to town, I verify their current and last employer and call the company that just hired them to make sure they actually have a job.

On my rental listings I state "Credit,criminal and rental history check on all adult applicants by mysmartmove.com

That usually gets them moving on the documentation if they are really interested.To save time and money since we don't require an application fee, we tell everyone upfront that we require credit/background/criminal checks security deposit and first month's rent in certified funds before lease signing.  

Many states prohibit taking title to a property in exchange for "helping them out", with both civil and criminal penalties.