Based on recent surveys, 90% of landlords believe running background checks on tenants helps look for excellent tenants. Even though there are numerous things to consider when you decide to screen a tenant, rental history checks are crucial before renting property to a tenant.
Finding the right home can be challenging. That’s why most people will visit myHomeSpot.com to explore their options. In the meantime, read on to understand the importance of rental history checks, things to follow when screening a tenant, and the best free tools to run rental history checks.
Understanding Rental History Checks
A rental history check will have a list of past addresses that the potential tenant was renting. It will have the contact details of the property manager or landlord. There is also a credit check report whereby you will get a tenant’s information. However, you should request the tenant to offer you the data while applying. Not only will you get to understand the discrepancies, but you will compare the information to the credit report.
Importance of a Rental History Check
If you know more about a potential tenant, there is a chance that you will see the tenant’s character and occupation. Knowing the tenant’s behavior with previous property managers or landlords will give you a clear picture of how they will behave when they lease your property. It is advised that you do your research.
Here are some crucial questions to ask the potential tenant and previous landlords:
- Was rent paid on time?
- If not, was rent always paid late?
- Would you rent the property to the tenant in the future?
- Was there wear and tear?
- Did the tenant follow all the terms and conditions?
- Did the tenant leave the property clean and in excellent condition after moving out?
- Do you have anything else to share?
10 Best Free Tools to Run Rental History Checks
Here are ten top free, low-cost tools that are designed to run rental history checks:
Professionals and realtors generally use LeaseRunner in several towns across the United States of America. Most landlords will use it because it has no monthly charges, and they will get reports for $10.
E-Renter might not be cheap when you want to conduct rental checks, but it is considered beneficial when screening tenants. This includes bankruptcy claims, sex crimes, and judgments at the cost of $19.95.
Experian will charge the potential tenant a screening fee and a credit report. Most landlords will conduct the rental check by offering the tenant’s name, email, recent purchases and show the landlord full access via Experian. The comprehensive report will have the address, credit account, job history, credit score, etc. Landlords can keep the records and share them with other confidential sources for a maximum of 30 days.
Avail is a well-known tool created for landlords who prefer DIY methods. It provided tenant screening, rent management tools and helps with rent collection. The tenant application will be charged at the cost of $55, and the tenant will be required to make the payment.
RentMe offers landlords full access to crucial information and numerous eviction, criminal, and credit history data. They will need to sign up and get an account on the internet, set up a profile with the property, and seek potential clients to apply. After the application, they will get a tenant screening report that includes employment records and addresses.
Burbs was formed in 2010 by a realtor who knows the benefits of property management and seeking excellent tenants. The service provides free reports to landlords to help them find tenants and access to criminal, credit, and eviction records.
Spark Rental is a service formed to assist people in achieving financial freedom in the real estate business. Along with providing free reports, tenants will get a comprehensive online application to fill in their information. You can get criminal reports, credit reports, and eviction reports.
AAOA stands for American Apartment Owners Association Tenant Screening service. It can be accessed by associates and non-associated associations but at a fee of $19.95 for a single report.
Rentberry provides a free comprehensive report. You can assess credit reports of potential tenants. With Rentberry, the process is fast and straightforward. The landlord will send a request to the potential tenant, and the tenant will fill in crucial personal information so that it is evaluated.
Cozy has partnered with other well-known sites to provide landlords and property managers advanced online tools that will make tenant screening straightforward.
