Tenant screening, background check on Zillow

[Diane Mendoza]

Hi all! I bought a 2-unit property and now in the process of screening tenants. I am currently using Zillow to screen tenants and had the application option turned on so I have candidates who paid $35.00 for the Zillow application fee. I noticed on the forums that many landlords do not find Zillow background check and credit check reliable. Is it completely unreasonable to request another background check through a more reliable engine like Mysmartmoves.com? 

Thank you in advance.

[Peter Stewart]

When I used to self manage my properties I used MySmartMove and felt it was a very good screening process - it checks all the main things you need to check (criminal history, bankruptcy/foreclosure history, credit, etc). And it's easy to send the link to the prospective tenant so they can complete the app and pay for it directly. Once done the report gets sent directly to you and they give a recommendation on whether or not to accept the tenant.