by Amazing Creations

Created on: November 29, 2010   Last Updated: December 14, 2010

If you own rental property, you are probably familiar with a tenant background check. As many as 75% of all landlords use these background checks to screen out potential tenants. Conducting a tenant background check is crucial-it can weed out the good, the bad, and the ugly from the renters you want inside of your home, office, or apartment.

A tenant background check can give very important information on a person whom you otherwise know very little-or nothing at all-about. A background check can tell you things such as the person's previous rental history, employment information, criminal background, their credit score, and whether or not the person has any evictions on their record. There are several other things that a tenant background check can tell, and it can help you make an informed decision as to whether or not you should rent to the person.

It is important to know all of the above information because it can avoid potential problems in the future. Problems that can cost you in the long run, with lengthy evictions, costly repairs to your property, and worse, trouble within the property with neighbors or the law. If a person has evictions on their record, you can use your judgment to decide if the person deserves a second chance or not. With a previous eviction on their record, there is always a chance that you,too, will not receive rent for your property and may have to go through the eviction process. You could lose several months rent, depending on the state that you live in, while the eviction takes place. Legal fees can also mound high to evict a person from your home. Knowing the person's employment history is also beneficial. If they change jobs frequently, this lets you know that they are not very stable, and again, may have trouble paying rent on time, if it is paid at all. Someone with felonies on their record also have the potential to be dangerous tenants, and depending on the crime or crimes that have been committed, more of a nuisance to you and their neighbors than it is worth. You do not want the worry of illegal activities taking place inside of your property, either, or for the person to have other criminals who may cause a disturbance coming around.

Conducting a tenant background check also gives the opportunity to contact previous landlords to get a better feel for the person and if they are a good fit for the property you have available. You can find out things such as how they maintained their home, if rent was paid on time, and if they got along well with their neighbors.

These are just a few of the very important reasons to conduct a tenant background check. The costs of conducting a background check are very minimal, and well worth it. Before you rent, get a tenant background check to ensure your renters are the best renters you can have!

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