Low Income Rental Screening

[Derek Bonanni]

I am managing a new property with a few Low Income units.  My questions are

1.  What is the best way to screen low income tenants?

2.  Do these tenants have to go through the county/city first?

Thanks in advance!

[Johnny Hastings]

I'm in a similar boat. Not Section 8, but low income working people. 

The screening process was one of my most valuable lessons in 3 years of property management. 

In WI, we have online free access to criminal and small claims records. I look everyone up on there. Make sure they've had no felonies, no evictions within the last 5 to 10 years, no drug or alcohol offenses, or anything else that seems like trouble. 

I also make sure they give me rental references, and call them! I've found that most landlords are happy to chat with you about past renters. If they're young people, just starting out, I get their parents' phone numbers, and call them to chat.

One other thing I do is to meet everyone myself, for the showings. I chat them up, and ask questions about their rental app, and their situation. Also, as we walk through my property, there's always other tenants around; so they can see how I talk to / interact with everyone by name. If I get a weird vibe from a potential tenant, I reject them. 

Just doing these things has saved me soooo much hassle, I can't explain. I've found that it's so much better to skip over someone, even to have a unit empty for a month, than to have a bad tenant. I can't stress that enough.