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The current state of the housing market will force more and more owners to become first time property managers. As a property manager, your first concern must be to protect your investment and renting your property without a thorough background check is very risky. The cost of not investigating your potential renter could leave with thousands of dollars of damages.

Below is a list of some warning signs that may protect you and your investment:

1. A face-to-face meeting is the place to start. In today's internet driven world, people transact most business from a far, but this way of business does not allow you get a very important first impression. This meeting will give you very valuable information: How many people will occupy the property? How many people are giving input and making comments, like this is my room?

2. Next, require a written rental application. Before you accept the application, be sure to disclose to the applicant any requirements you may have to be a renter. For example, if you want a person to have a clean criminal record, good credit and make three times the rental payment, then you should disclose that information. Some applicants will walk away just on that disclosure but it will save you time and money in the end.

Let us assume we have an applicant; be sure the rental application asks the renter for previous addresses, and contact information for previous landlord(s). The applicant must sign the application. Along with the application, you should require two proofs of identification for verification. If the tenant has had several, previous addresses within a very short period, for example, 3 residences in a 2-year period. This is a red flag that this renter may be unstable, and maybe you should pass on this renter.

3.Require a non-refundable application fee; it covers the costs of the credit report and background check. It will weed out applicants who are just testing the waters from serious potential tenants. Most people are aware of their credit problems and they will use this as an opportunity to divulge any credit or previous renting issues before submitting their application.

4. Next, require a credit check. The credit report will provide three key pieces of information. The place to begin on the credit report is the previous addresses. Be sure to ask the potential renter to explain any address listed on their credit report that is not listed on the rental application.

5. Still reviewing the credit report, look at the previous inquiries.

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