Detailed tenant screening

[Brian Moss]

Hi, I am new at tenant screening. A friend has been using e-renter screening service for several years. The advantage there is, he gets the tenant(s) to fill out an application form (paper based) which has their SSN, DoB, Drivers license, etc. This info can come in handy later for eviction or collections as told to me. Though this process requires meeting in-person and collecting an app fee. 

Question:

- What tenant info is needed for any later negative events like evictions, collections, etc.?

- Does the online tenant screening like Zillow, apartments.com, Transunion, etc. share tenant info (SSN, DoB, Drivers license) with the landlord? 

Further, what docs/steps to vet the tenant(s) 

- credit report if they have poor credit to get details of negative and collection accounts

- employment status and pay stubs - ability to pay rent? Is 3x rent a good measure?

- Past rental history

- Facebook/social media profiles

- general google search on any recent litigations, etc. which may not have yet come into the tenant screening report

- what else? Legal status in certain cases??

Thanks