Evictions in Nashville and throughout Tennessee have reached pre-pandemic levels. With evictions at an all-time high, landlords now face a unique challenge. Tenant screening in Chattanooga is more crucial than ever, with more people applying for rentals.
An established and thorough tenant screening process will protect your real estate investment. This guide will show you what your tenant screening should include and why.
Protect Your Property
Protect your real estate investment from crime and vandalism by screening tenants. Your screening process should include a background and criminal check. During this phase, you can find out if an applicant has a criminal history that could bring trouble to your property.
Many landlords choose to deny applicants with a recent criminal arrest history. They do not want tenants that present a risk to the property, fellow tenants, or neighbors. For example, a DUI arrest from eight years ago differs from a burglary arrest from six months ago.
Financial Peace of Mind
While you can't guarantee that your tenant will pay their rent, you can reduce non-payment risk. Your tenant screening should include a credit check and employment verification. This lets you confirm the applicant's ability to pay their rent.
Someone with a history of defaulting on their debt, has a lot of debt, or an unstable employment history is a higher risk. Give yourself financial peace of mind by screening for financial stability and responsibility.
Reduce Evictions
With evictions on the rise, this risks your rental investment. Evictions are time-consuming and costly.
During the process, you lose out on monthly rent income. Then, there is the risk of your tenant damaging the property in retaliation.
Avoiding evictions by carefully screening tenants can help improve your rental's ROI.
Reduced Legal Risk
All landlords must follow the Fair Housing Act. This house law protects applicants and tenants from discrimination. Having an established tenant screening process ensures you abide by anti-discrimination laws.
Should an applicant or tenant claim discrimination, you can produce your process. As long as you follow the same process and hold everyone to the same standard, you can show you did not discriminate.
Trust Tenant Screening Services
You do not have to do the work of tenant screening yourself. Instead, hire a tenant screening service or property management company. Property managers can help you screen tenants because they have much more experience.
Many property management companies use an online portal system. This streamlines the application system and makes it easier to manage the entire process.
Start Tenant Screening
If you own rental property, tenant screening is a must to protect your investment. The screening process can highlight potential signs of a bad tenant. An established screening process and approval standard ensures you comply with fair housing laws.
Another option is to work with a property management company. Use their resources and experience to screen potential tenants effectively. PMI Scenic City can help you find the best tenants for your rental property.
Schedule a consultation with our team of property managers to create a comprehensive tenant screening plan.
