How to screen tenants?

Question

I posted my property (1BD/1BA) on Facebook marketplace and I received a few inquiriies.  How do i go about screening these prospective tenants from FB marketplace?  and what tools do i use to perform background checks and credit checks?

Wesley W. · Answer

Here is my system that I have shared on the forums previously:

It all starts with online ads, within which are several pre-screening questions I request be answered in their response to my ad. Here they are:

1.) Your first and last name

2.) Your direct email address

3.) Your phone number

4.) Total number of people that would occupy the apartment

5.) Proposed animals (size/breeds)  <--- NOTE I DO NOT USE THE WORD, "PETS"

6.) Monthly pre-tax income for household (minimum $5000)

7.) Date you wish to move in

8.) Do you currently have enough funds to pay first month’s rent and a security deposit?

Next, here's a canned email response I use for everyone who answers my ad with the aforementioned questions answered. If they don't answer my questions, I know they have not read the ad and are just clicking and "tire kicking" or they lack the intellectual focus for me to have any business relationship with them.I market on Craiglist, Zillow, FB and Apts.com and get great leads from each in my market. Problem with Zillow and FB is they have this annoying "1-click reply" where people can just click on your ad without reading it and you get an automated message "Joe is interested in your apartment at 123 Main St." To these responses I just cut/paste the ad narrative into an email reply. This is a waste of my time, but I am stuck with that if I want to market through them.

Here is the email response:

Thank you for your interest. We have a minimum income requirement to qualify for this unit (4 times monthly rent); based on your email, it appears you meet that qualification.

Whether or not your household currently has pets, I am going to share our pet policy. We allow cats and most dog breeds except for the following:

- any breeds/mixes known under common parlance as “Pit Bull”

- Rottweiler

- Doberman Pinscher

- German Shepherd

- Alaskan Malamute / Siberian Husky

- Chow Chow

- Presa Canario

- Cane Corso

- Mastiff

- Great Dane

- St. Bernard

- Akita

- Wolf hybrids

Unfortunately, these are prohibited for insurance reasons. Keeping pets requires a one-time nonrefundable pet fee of $250 (per pet) as well as an additional $25 monthly rent for each approved pet. We would need photos of each proposed animal, as well. As pet lovers ourselves, we typically like to meet your pets at some point in the process, too. We are fair housing compliant regarding animals.

Our tenants’ safety and the peaceful enjoyment of their home is important to us, so we do a credit/criminal background check on all applicants aged 18+, as well as employment and prior landlord verifications. Big concerns are bankruptcies/repossessions and crimes against people/property. We require a minimum credit score of 620 (averaged between occupants) to qualify. If your household income is more than 5 times monthly rent, a guarantor may be an option in lieu of a sufficient credit score. We can provide a complete list of our qualifying criteria upon request. If you don't foresee any major obstacles to qualification, I'd be happy to set up a viewing for you. Let me know what you think.

As a matter of information, smoking/vaping is prohibited inside our rental units. This includes marijuana.

If you decide that the apartment would meet your needs and wish to proceed with the application process, we would need copies of a month’s worth of your most recent pay stubs and photo ID for all applicants aged 18+ (I can scan at the viewing). The pay stubs can be hard copies or digital PDFs generated directly by your employer and sent via email; we cannot accept screen captures to verify income.

Once your completed application materials have been received and it appears that you would meet our qualifying criteria, we would send you a link to perform a credit/criminal background check (this minor expense would be yours), and if those results come back acceptable, we would offer to proceed. A “contract to hold” binder payment equal to a month’s rent would also be collected at that time.

This holds the unit for 5 to 7 days until the lease signing, and once the rental agreement is signed this binder payment becomes your security deposit. At the lease signing, you will need to put down another $1250 (not including pet fees), which will serve as your first month’s rent. So, the total base move-in costs would be $2500, all paid prior to lease signing.

Since choosing a place to live is a very personal decision, please feel free to do a “drive by” of the property, located at 123 Main St., so you can get a feel for the neighborhood. (I will ask that, out of respect for our current tenants’ security and privacy, to wait until your viewing appointment before walking the property.)

If everything above is agreeable to you, let me know your availability over the next few days and I'd be happy to take you through the apartment.

Thank you, and I look forward to meeting you at the viewing.

Note how I reiterate the qualifying criteria as well as itemizing what the move-in costs will be. I also suggest a drive-by so they are not unpleasantly surprised by the neighborhood when they to the showing, and just keep on driving by anonymously as I wait outside. This email gives people yet another opportunity to self-select out of the application process based on my expectations and criteria before an actual showing in scheduled.  I also am not using the word "deposit" anywhere, because a deposit, by definition, can be refunded.  A "non-refundable deposit" is legally confusing.

If they do request a showing, I send them this email:

Hi John,

Please read this entire email.

How about a viewing on X at X pm? If that works for you, please reply to this email within 24 hours to accept this appointment and I will add you to the viewing schedule.

Also, as a means of courtesy to both our busy schedules, please confirm via text or phone call at least 2 hours prior on the day of the viewing to my cell phone (number).

I’ve also attached our rental application. I will have hard copies at the viewing, but if you print and fill it out prior to the viewing, this would save some time should you want to expedite your application in the process. Please take note that we will not review any application with missing/incomplete information. I would also need the last month’s worth of pay stubs and photo ID of all applicants in order to proceed, as well. Lastly, please make sure all of the adult members of your household are able to attend your appointment. We do not approve applications from those that do not attend the viewing in person.

As a reminder, the address is 123 Main St.  I look forward to meeting you on X.

I do not use Zillow applications, as I do not think they are as thorough as I need them to be.  I use my own application, which has an imbedded authorization to release information for their employer and landlord.

If they have not confirmed an hour prior to their appointment, I send this text to their phone (which was required as part of their contact information I required in the response to my ad):

As I had requested in my email, you have not yet confirmed your apartment showing for this evening, scheduled for 7:00pm. If I don’t hear from you in the next 10 minutes, I will assume you aren’t attending and I will move on to my next appointment.

Using this system as dramatically reduced any wasted time I used to endure as part of the showing process as well as giving me data about their timeliness/responsiveness/respect for others' time.

I often schedule several viewings at a time, 15 minutes apart.  I book marginal candidates in between strong ones to create a scarcity mentality.  I will not book any viewings unless I have a strong candidate.  I leave the marginal ones waiting, letting them know I will reach out when I have a showing date/time.

At the showing, I collect their completed application (sent via PDF prior or filled out on premises), scan their photo ID and last 30 days of pay stubs.

If it looks like they are representing themselves to me accurately, I contact them and send them a link to do the background checks (paid by them directly to the vendor).  I use tenantbackgroundsearch.com.  Despite what others have posted above, I recoomend you DO NOT hang your hat on these automated (and flawed) reports.  You need to do your own gum-shoeing!  These companies have no culpability for anything they have missed.  They love to collect your money.  No one will care about your tenant screening more than you.  Do the work yourself upfront, and you'll benefit from a great tenancy.

If that comes back acceptable, I do some digging around online (social media, court records, Google) and then I contact their employer for a reference.  I want to talk to their immediate supervisor, and I reach them using a work email or publicly-published business phone (no private email address or cell phone numbers).  Some larger companies will come back and throw HR in the way (or, worse yet, refer me to The Work Number - less than useless!).  If this happens, I apply pressure to the applicant to leverage the relationship they have with their supervisor and get me connected.

For landlord references, I have a verification form I email to the PM company, or a phone call to a self-managing owner.  In the case of small-multi or SFR, I always check property records before I call so I know whom is the owner of the property, and then I ask contextual questions to verify that I am speaking to the real landlord.  Anyone who has been doing this for awhile has been given a friend's number by an unscruipulous applicant.  There are tricks to thwart this.

I am not proceeding with a rental agreement without speaking to two real people who have had personal experience with the prospect: the landlord and the work supervisor.  This is non-negotiable for me.

As a point to note, I mentioned above that my application has a built-in authorization to release information that the applicant signs, that I send to the PM company or employer to elicit cooperation and candor.

If all these explorations do not raise any red flags, I set up a "contract to hold" meeting - usually the day after the email since qualified applicants need to be "closed" ASAP. (During this whole time I continue to market/show the unit. I continue to funnel people into my process until a lease is signed.) Note that I do not put a lot of time into due diligence until the "contract to hold" meeting, when they put some skin in the game.

At the "contract to hold" meeting, I collect an amount equal to one month's rent. I ONLY accept cash. We sign an agreement that commits their non-refundable payment for a brief period (usually 5 days), during which time I call landlords and employers, and dig online. If there is anything untoward, I have a right of rescission and I give the money back. I also ask the prospects to let their employers/landlord know I will be calling.  I have found that this reduces the time it takes to connect with them so it's not a true cold call.

Once my due diligence is complete, we meet again for a lease signing, at which point I collect the rest of the move-in fees. I only give them a short time (usually 5 days total from the contract to hold) to meet for the lease signing before they lose their exclusive rights to the unit, so this prevents someone from dragging their feet after they've signed the contract to hold.

Once the lease is signed, I take down the ads and send out emails to people in mid-marketing flow letting them know that the apartment has been rented but I will reach out if something falls through.

Peter Mckernan · Answer

An easy one I used for a long time www.mysmartmove.com. There are a ton of options out there and another one is rent spree. Make sure you have the tenant, or prospective tenant pay for the background/credit check.

Scott Nachitilo · Answer

Hey Marc, congrats on the inquiries! Screening FB Marketplace tenants starts with pre-screening questions: ask about move-in dates, occupants, income, and reasons for moving. Anyone who fits your criteria gets a formal application.

And I suppose you are currently in the US, so to do background/credit checks, use landlord-friendly tools like Zillow Rental Manager, TurboTenant, mysmartmove.com, or Apartments.com—they bundle credit, criminal, and eviction reports for a small fee (paid by you or the applicant legally). Always verify income with pay stubs, call references and their current landlord, and trust your gut during showings. This layered approach weeds out mismatches and finds reliable renters.

Good luck!

C.Y. Li · Answer

Have you tried mysmartmove.com? It's free to sign up and I usually have the prospective tenant pay but only send them the link after I've vetted all the other criteria, like reference check and such. Hope that helps.