Bank robbers. Terrorists. Motivated sellers. No matter who you're dealing with, negotiation is vital. As a real estate investor, the question is not if you’ll negotiate but how well will you negotiate—and after this e...
Francis Rusnak
Proper Screening for Tenants in Cook County
In episode 85 of Straight Up Chicago Investor podcasts, @Mark Ainley talks about how in the last few years you are required to not pull credit/background check until the initial screening is approved. He said he'd put...
John Chan
Background and Credit Check
When you do a credit check and a criminal background check on prospective tenants, what site do you use and how much do you pay? Thanks in advance,
Amy A.
Who do you use for Maine eviction screening?
This post applies to Maine landlords, but may be useful for others as well. For 10 years I used padzilla, also known as tenant-net, for eviction and credit report screening. They did an inspection of my office so th...
Carmen Chow
Do you ask for credit/background check for...?
Hoping to get some advice on fellow BP members.I’m planning to rent out a unit for a family of 4. Mom, 2 sons of working age and a 17 yo daughter in school. The combined monthly income for the mom and the 2 sons are a...
Mike M.
SmartMove Tenant Quality
SmartMove has been out there a couple years. There's plenty of posts on if/how to use it, but I couldn't find much feedback from users about the quality of the tenants SmartMove has recommended. I am considering it ...
Noralee Deason
Questions About Background of Minor Child(ren)
I work for a public school district and I know there are many teenagers who have criminal backgrounds. May I ask on the application if there are any minor children who are under suspension / expulsion status from a p...
Dan Moore
Tenant screening isn't showing the true picture, what to do?
I'm new to BP, and new to focused renting and REI. However I'm decades into both residential and commercial rentals. Up until recently, it has been a sideline or ancillary to my normal business. We have some residenti...
Raj Balakrishnan
tenant verification is UNRELIABLE. Scary stuff for a mom & pop investor !!!!!
Several applicants with disclosed felony arrests and convictions have passed tenant verification checks. Tenant verification sites, which charge for nationwide criminal, income, and credit checks, are clearing these a...
Account Closed
[PRE-Foreclosure ] QUESTION
If an owner in pre-foreclosure has a house almost paid off, lets say mortgage 100kAnd he has paid 95k, he just has to pay 5k to pay off his mortgage But he is in foreclosure, so, you help him and you paid his back ...