Orlando eviction filings continue to set records in the post-pandemic world.
If you want to avoid having to evict one of your tenants, you need to implement preventative measures. There are a few things you can do to prevent evictions, but the best method is to prevent poor tenants from renting out your property.
Screening tenants involves a few different tactics, one of which is a tenant criminal background check. In today's post, we'll explain our tenant placement process by looking at criminal background checks, as well as a few other important pieces of information we gather on your behalf.
Read on and you'll be sure that you're getting great tenants every time.
Tenant Criminal Background Check
The most important aspect of tenant screening is a tenant criminal background check. This will tell you if one of your applicants has a criminal record and what the charges were.
Believe it or not, around a third of the US population has a criminal record. In most states, the Fair Housing Act prevents landlords from discriminating against renters for a variety of reasons, including past charges. Unless your applicant is a violent offender, criminal charges shouldn't necessarily prevent them from renting.
That said, our background check will tell you who you're dealing with. This, in conjunction with a few other pieces of information, can help you find the perfect renter.
Financial and Employment Checks
The next thing we do to screen tenants is perform credit and employment checks. A credit check can tell us more about applicants' financial histories, which can indicate whether they're financially responsible enough.
Employment checks are in place simply to verify whether or not the person is gainfully employed. If they're not and they have poor credit, you can't be sure that they'll pay rent on time each month.
Character References
An extra measure we often take is to contact character references. The best reference to speak to is a former landlord, who can describe exactly what type of tenant you'll be getting.
It's important to get a sense of an applicant's character to determine whether or not they'll be a good fit for your property. It's the last thing we do before making a final decision on your future tenant.
Keeping Good Tenants
Finding great tenants is the best way to avoid evictions, but there are measures you can take once a tenant is in your property as well. For example, you can deter poor tenant behavior by taking lease enforcement seriously.
If you want to keep vacancy rates down, you need to keep tenants happy. Make sure to maintain your rental at a high level and perform rent collection on time each month. If you're keen to keep a tenant around, don't forget to secure lease renewals as soon as possible.
How Property Management Can Help
When you do a tenant criminal background check, credit check, and contact references, there's no reason you won't find an ideal candidate. Once they're in your rental, it's your job to make sure the rules are followed and that tenants are happy.
If this sounds like a lot of work, that's because it is. Hiring a property manager, like PMI Property Alliance, can help you tackle all of these tenant screening and management duties. Contact us today to learn more.
