The best way to earn from your property is to rent it out. But, in today’s world, crime is at its peak and there are several cases of landlords spending sleepless nights due to damage to their property, unpaid rent, and even harrowing experiences to evict tenants. Background screening of the tenant by the owners themselves or by any property management company ensures creditworthiness as well as the correct identity of the tenant with a detailed tenant background check report. The end result is to have a clearer picture of your tenant so that they get their monthly rent and there is no damage to their property during their stay.

What are the steps required to perform a tenant background check?
o Obtain detailed information from your prospective tenant: The first step in landlord-tenant verification is to obtain a tenant application form that the prospective tenant completes, including full name, previous residential address, employment record, and even the social Security number. The application form should also include contact numbers, salary information and bank account details. Try to acquire proof of identification such as a driver’s license, birth certificate, or passport for all members who would be staying. A minimum of two references must accompany the application form in order to conduct a proper background search on the tenant.

o Assign the job to a tenant background check agency – it is not always possible for a landlord to verify the complete information provided by the tenant, so it is best to hire professionals who are in the field of this particular service paying nominal fees . Fees may be recovered by the owner from prospective tenants as a rental application screening fee.

What are the authentic sources of the tenant report?
For the most part, the tenant background check report is based on data from:
o Experian Consumer Credit
o Equifax Location Services
o International Credit Reference Agencies
o Bankers reference
or Dun & Bradstreet
or Call Credit Consumer Scoring Systems
o RSA High Risk Tenant Repository.

What are the required checks in evaluating a tenant’s credit report?
It happens that it is not possible for everyone to have high credit scores because on some occasions there can be non-payment. Therefore, it becomes essential to check for certain issues on a tenant report such as a history of evictions, non-payment of rent, or any other significant delinquencies such as criminal history and employment status.

What are the different types of tenant verification reports?
Different agencies provide different reporting packages tailored to the landlord’s requirements, and the charges for these vary accordingly.

What is the time required to obtain a detailed tenant verification report?
At most tenant credit check agencies, each report is handled by a specific analyst and their goal is to deliver a detailed report to their client by the next business day. However, in cases of advanced reports, an additional day may be required on top of the delay by the arbitrators, if any.