If you recall, last week I talked about the importance of being certain that the information your are given on a Rental Application is correct. Jim Cole from the LandlordAssociation .Org Yahoo Group suggested that an applicant's driver's license or state I.D. should be copied if at all possible. I wrote back to him to confirm that also making a copy of the applicant's actual social security card is a good idea. Especially since people may often try to use another person's identity on a Rental Application. If there is no way to copy the identification, it's a good idea to look over them very carefully when an application is completed. I suggest that when you're talking to them on the phone or by email that you tell them ahead of time to bring their I.D. and social security card with them. I thank Jim Cole for reminding me about this important step.
The second most vital information on a Rental Application is their current address and any past addresses. I encourage you to get addresses for the last 5 years. Why so much address information? Eviction records from the court system are based upon name and address only. Think about it, that's all you list on an eviction notice. This is the only information the court has when they complete an eviction so it's the only identifiers that end up on an Eviction Report.
The question is... Would you deny an application if you saw several evictions filed from the same address against your applicant four years ago? I probably would. It indicates they could be a chronic late payer. I remember a woman telling me once that she thought she might have an eviction filing at an apartment complex she lived in four years earlier. Well she did. Twelve of them to be exact for ever single month she lived there.
So getting as much past address information as you can allows you to properly compare name with address on the Eviction Report against the name and address information on the SSN Trace Report and with the Rental Application. You need a good indicator of rental payment history so this is the first step in finding it.
This brings us to Landlord information. I say get Landlord information for the past five years too. Why? If you see a prior judgment for eviction from a few years ago, you should have the Landlord's name and phone number to call. If the applicant says they can't recall names or phone numbers use your County Clerk of Courts or County Auditor website to look up the Landlord information through the Property Tax Records. You can do this with any addresses that the applicant failed to list too. Don't depend on the applicant 100% to give you correct information. It's too easy for people to simply list a friend's name and phone number as their Landlord. Of course you would get a fantastic reference.
Yes, screening a Rental Application is like being a good detective. You must look at all resources possible to make an informed decision about your applicant's past rental history.
At Management Information Services, we get your Screening Reports to you in minutes. There is no account set up needed, when you use our Resident Screening Services For Individual Landlords. Just go to the web page and order the reports anytime you need them. Please click this link for more information.
If you would like a sample copy of a Rental Application, send me an email and I'll be happy to send it to you. Nearly 100 people asked for it last week and I enjoyed sending them out and hearing their comments. But don't worry, I don't ever send unsolicited advertising emails to yahoo group members personal email addresses. I will simply send you the Rental Application as you requested.
Enjoy your day,
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