How to Best Screen Vendors

There can be no question that applicant screening is vital to the life of the apartment complex; people, especially ladies living alone, older Americans and families with children want to feel safe in their apartment home, and it is the managers job to see that happens. There are a few ways to screen a applicant, but by far the best is to have the screening conducted by a consumer reporting agency (CRA) that specializes in renter screening. Why is this important? A consumer reporting agency must meet Federal Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requirements which means, by law, the results are more accurate and up to date. In addition, no thorough search can be conducted on line only by one vendor. Here is what I recommend:

• Verification of applicant's name, date of birth and SSN. A "no record" message probably does not mean the applicant has no criminal record, but that false information has been entered thus it is up to the person doing the screening to verify.
• Nationwide criminal background check on FCRA compliant database.
• Nationwide sexual offender, predator and phedophile search
• A check of DHS terrorist watch list.
• A search of civil records in every county the applicant has lived for the past 5 years.
• Employment verified.
• Credit activity
• A interview with prior landlords.

As you can see this is quite a list designed to be a effective risk management tool to avoid the dreaded "bad renter" and may require some hands on searches.

This can really be a big challenge, but these are some great tips. Thanks for sharing! I started using www.myrental.com this year to try and alleviate some of that stress. www.landlordology.com/ has some great resources that might be worth checking out too.