Owning a rental in Nashville, the home of country music, is a smart investment decision. However, you must place the right tenant to make the most of your real estate purchase. Otherwise, the tenant may cost you more than your potential profit.
Performing a tenant background check helps you make better decisions when choosing a tenant for your rental. Before skipping this crucial step, learn how tenant screening protects you and your rental property.
Property Protection
You need to protect your real estate investment. Thorough tenant screening is a must because you will trust the person you approve to live in your home. You need to know that the person you approve will respect the property and pay their rent on time.
Tenant screening lets you disqualify tenants who do not meet your standards. They could own pets or smoke when you don't allow them to.
Be careful to respect tenant rights when screening. You cannot discriminate against a protected class and violate fair housing laws.
Tenant Background Check
Outsourcing your rental background check gives you greater insight into who the potential applicant is. That way, you can verify the information provided on their application from an independent third party.
Safety
Part of performing a tenant background check includes checking a potential tenant's criminal history. However, you should not automatically disqualify any applicant with a criminal record. Doing so would significantly decrease your applicant pool and eliminate many high-quality tenants.
Many landlords consider only recent and specific types of convictions. For some landlords, drug or violence-related charges are a disqualifier because these could potentially allow problematic tenants to live on the property. However, a DUI from ten years ago doesn't present the same level of risk or danger.
Financial Status
A crucial part of a background check is income verification. This phase of the screening process confirms that the tenant can afford the rent. With Nashville being one of the country's 25 most expensive rental markets, you don't want to approve someone who can't afford the rent.
In addition to looking at a tenant's current financial status, consider their credit history. This will tell you if they are financially stable long term. Someone with bankruptcies, unpaid debt, or lawsuits could be a risky tenant.
Eviction Protection
Always check a potential tenant's eviction history. If they have an eviction, find out the circumstances surrounding it. Not every eviction is the tenant's fault.
However, if they have multiple evictions in their rental history, this is a bad sign. Approving them could create a risk that you will have to evict them from your rental.
Perform Thorough Tenant Screening
Take your role as a landlord seriously and always perform thorough tenant screening. This should include a tenant background check, financial verification, and rental history. That way, you have a clear picture of the person applying to rent your property.
At Green Tree Property Management in Nashville, we help landlords find high-quality tenants. Our thorough screening process looks at various aspects to create a complete picture of a potential tenant so you can decide who to approve.
Protect your rental property investment by placing high-quality tenants when you have the Green Tree Property Management in Nashville perform your tenant screening.
