A lot of people ask us how we screen applicants so I thought I’d share our screening process with you. First of all, we screen all applicants over the age of 18. The first thing we do is have the applicant complete an online application. This is where the applicant enters all of their information for us to review.

Next, we run a full credit, criminal, eviction, and background check. Sometimes we do find red flags on these reports and we are able to see a pattern of payment history.

We always request paystubs to verify the applicant’s income. We need to verify the income they receive matches what they have listed in their application.

Rather than a reference from the current landlord, we ask for proof of on-time rent payments. We are looking for bank account statements or cancelled checks proving they have made their payments on-time. We find this more useful than a verbal statement from a Landlord since the Landlord may not be honest with us.

We always request a copy of a driver’s license and pet if applicable.

Finally, we take a look at the applicant’s social media pages. LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter can provide valuable information about an applicant. We have found applicants will lie or omit important information.

Our goal when we screen a tenant is to find a high-quality tenant, not just accept the first person that applies. Once we find an applicant that we feel is a good fit we forward the information to you, the owner, to make the final decision.