12.27.13 Checking Out a New Tenant Screening Service

The process I documented in my e-book and that we have been using for tenant screening costs $40 per person- $10 for criminal check through WATCH: Washington Access to Criminal History, and $10 for credit report summary information through aaascreening.net.

After joining Washington Landlord Association, we discovered a cheaper option and decided to try it out for our December tenant placement. WLA does a combined credit and criminal check for $15/person for members.

We had to change our rental application and screening criteria to accommodate the changes.

What we no longer get:

• An actual credit score. Since most of our applicants don’t have a credit score, this isn’t a big loss.
• When applicants lived at which addresses. We do still get a listing of prior addresses.
• Detailed credit history of how much is owed to whom. So we can no longer see the type of debt or if utilities are in collections. It does list out any bankruptcies, judgments, or evictions.

What we now get and didn’t before:

• The WLA form asks how long the applicant plans to stay and if they are a smoker, two questions we were not previously asking.
• A fitness rating score.
• A nationwide criminal check, not just Washington state.

Due to our low income clients not being able to afford to fund their background checks or complete the on-line process completely, we have fewer options for tenant screening. We’re pleased with the first results and lower costs, we’re going to try it again.