Tenant Screening

[Golf-Tinker]

Do those of you who offer your properties for rent to others use on-line tenant screening service(s): credit reports, background checks, reference checks? If not for short term rentals, do you do so for longer term rentals?

Recommendations about who does it best?

[Ohiogirl]

I rented my CYV for 4 years, never did credit checks or anything else. I required the full rent (1 month, 3 months, whatever the lease was) 45 days prior to the initial rent date, and the deposit was due when the lease was signed, sometimes 10-11 mos ahead of time. Very different rental market in a retirement community.

I only collected $500-600 for a deposit - if I was doing it again, I would collect at least $750, not part of the rent and refundable only after the end of the lease, when my cleaning person and/or caretaker could check for any damages.

Only had 1 problem in all that time - 2 single guys who rented for 6 weeks never cleaned - anything - I kept back some of their deposit for extra cleaning.

[l2ridehd]

I rent two homes and do not check. I collect all rents one month in advance, a $750 security deposit for 1 month plus $250 for each additional month due at lease signing and provide discounts for repeat renters and multiple months. I collect the cleaning fee and ID fee up front as well. I have had over 30 different tenants with only two minor problems. Both were resolved with out issues. A few of my tenants have purchased homes and are now friends. As ohiogirl said, it's a different market.

[texasfal]

I hired a property manager who did the checks. All of the tenants he found for us were great. We had one tenant I did not have go thru the property manager because my husband went to high school with the guy's sons. What a disaster. He not only did not clean, he stopped up the toilet and left it for weeks until we came to clean up, he used a corner of the kitchen as a garbarge dump when the trash can overfilled and he did not take it outside, he left unwrapped food stuck to the freezer and the refrigerator, but worst of all, the ac broke while he was there for 3 months and he didn't tell us. When we got to the house which was filthy, there was mold and mildew everywhere because the ac had not been working. We had to find an ac to come out on Easter Sunday. I spent 10 hours cleaning up after the guy. Then when I kept his security deposit, he threatened to sue me. I told him to bring it on. Guy had the nerve to call me the next year and ask to rent the house again.

[another Linda]

I don't do any formal checks, but I do talk to all our renters and make sure to make the calls "personal." I let them know this is our home and that we take pride in it. Dee (Redwitch) is our house watch person and she is oncall if they have problems. She lets me know if anything seems off. Interesting, I've only had 2 problems and both were with longer term renters. Those that rent month-to-month seem to be better.