When you are seeking to rent out your beloved property or your investment property, it is always worthy of conducting a tenant verification check. Operating via your real estate agent, they will conduct thorough checks on prospective tenants who have applied to rent your property, or at least they should. It is highly-important to check tenant’s background of where they were living and their regularity and reliability of paying the rent on time.
To Manage Tenants
A rental verification helps landlords and property managers manage the tenants that they choose to occupy the property. There are systems in place and digital data resources to be utilised. It is also optimum to conduct telephone calls to previous landlords or property agents to verify information. Check rental payments regularity as well as the condition in which the property was left and how well taken care of it was throughout the course of the tenancy.
To Ensure Authenticity
Some applicants may try to utilise contacts of friends for tenant verification, however by asking a few simple, direct questions you can determine whether this person was in fact the landlord or agent. Questions include how long the applicant(s) resided at the previous property, the rent they paid and how regularly and if on time and their reason for vacating.
What Does A Tenant Verification Look For Exactly?
One of the issues that landlords and real estate agents might experience with tenants is the irregularity of rental payments or consistent late payments. Checking employment status with the employer and conducting a credit check are two of the important aspects of conducting a tenant verification.
A steady employment role means a steady income and therefore the probability of the tenants paying rent regularly and on time is higher; being self-employed is also considered an employment role and if the applicant can provide details of their business being successful, then there is high probability they can be reliable with their rent. Yet there are other checks that you need to look for with prospective tenants.
How well did they look after the property? Did they maintain its condition bearing in mind aging wear and tear which naturally occurs? Did they regularly tend to the garden (if there is one) and maintain it? You are protecting yourself as a landlord when you conduct tenant verification checks as you do not want to be left high and dry with irregular or no rental income and damage caused to your property. You can also screen for criminal history by having the tenant provide a National Police Clearance which then gives you insight into their behaviour as a citizen.
This can be important as you do not want someone who has a criminal history and especially related to drugs and/or violence within your property which will undoubtedly affect your property and the neighbours. It is highly-important to be careful and precise when conducting a tenant verification check and make sure you cover all bases and angles to be sure that you are gaining quality tenants.