Best Tenant Screening in Nashville, TN: How to Find Great Tenants for Your Rental Home

Tenant Screening

Today we are talking about how to find a great tenant for your rental home and why we can help you find a good tenant who pays rent on time and takes care of your property. Our screening process includes credit checks & rental history and employment verification.

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Credit Checks

The first thing we check for is problems with the applicant’s credit. We mainly focus on late payments in the past year or two. It’s important that they have a record of paying their bills on time. Always look for an eviction history and make sure they don’t owe any other landlords outstanding charges. We understand that life happens and try to look at the big picture as opposed to just a credit score. Thus, a review of the applicant’s credit history is only the first step in tenant screening.

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Rental History and Employment Verification

As part of the tenant application process, applicants provide a minimum of three years of rental history as well as proof of income. So often, a tenant looks good on paper, but once the verification starts we find the applicant has been less than honest. After talking to previous landlords and gathering all the necessary income information, we verify their employment. The important part about this step is to make sure the tenant is earning at least three times the monthly rent before taxes each month. This ensures your tenant will be able to afford the home as well as utilities and other expenses that come with a property rental.

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Criminal Background Checks

As professional property managers our main focus is to protect our investment clients and maximize their returns. Making sure tenants do not have a history of arrests is an important component of the process. If a tenant is in jail, it is difficult for them to pay rent. Also, domestic violence often results in property damage. When it comes to criminal background portion of the tenant screening process, we look at the type of the offense, frequency of arrests, and if there has been a sufficient time since the last offense, showing that the tenant is now living responsibly.

This is what we do to screen tenants, and if you have any questions or you need help evaluating applicants for your rental home, please contact us at Apex Ventures, and we’d be glad to tell you more.