When you decide to become a landlord, you unload a lot of worries onto yourself. But nearly all of your possible issues can be avoided by finding the perfect tenant to rent your space. But how do you go about finding someone so great? Here are some things you should absolutely do when screening potential tenants.
Check their credit. A credit check will reveal how timely they are when paying their bills. A tenant with good credit pays their bills either on time or early, so a credit check is very important unless you don’t mind not getting your rent.
Run a background check. Background checks can ensure that you aren’t letting a criminal into your home. However, if you check out a potential tenant who had a minor instance with the law several years ago, I wouldn’t let it completely deter you. Use your best judgement.
Speak to their References. Talking with their references can weed out potential bad tenants. If their past landlord informs you that they frequently made late payments or left the place trashed, you might have second thoughts.