Landlords - Screen your applicants!!!

Tenant Screening
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Landlords - Screen your applicants!!!

Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

I love living in a small community!

One year ago, I was hired to help a landlord whose tenant had stopped paying. He rented to her without any screening. She had a lot of lease violations, late rent, etc. When he came to me, she was three months behind on rent, and her unauthorized dogs, cats, and roommates had caused about $4000 in damages. I was hired to get things back on track, but she wouldn't play ball, so I filed for eviction. She moved out a few days before the court hearing, so I canceled the eviction and sent her to collections for nearly $13,000.

Fast forward 10 months. I'm contacted by another landlord in the same town who needs help with a problematic tenant. He mentioned some of her behaviors, and I asked if her name was XXXXX YYYYYY. 

"How could you possibly know that?" he asks.

I gave him the background, and he admitted he didn't do any screening on her. 

She will get a nice surprise next week when I show up at her door to (a) announce that I am her new property manager and (b) notify her that I will update her information with the collection agency she's been hiding from.

Screen your applications, people!

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Maranda TuckerPro Member
Property Manager · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2022 · 152 posts · 118 votes
1y
Quote from @Nathan Gesner:
Quote from @Maranda Tucker:

Most county records aren't public. Even if they have a public record in your county, they may have issues in another county that are not disclosed. Fortunately, people with criminal records typically have other issues like bad credit or landlord references.


True. The main lesson for us was that there is still a level of due diligence that our team must perform regardless of screening software. We were just really lucky to not have any major issues pop up until last year. 
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  • Nick Rutkowski
    Rental Property Investor · Ithaca, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1y

    @Nathan Gesner for the beginner guys who are going to read this post. What methods would you suggest to screen potential tenants? 

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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    1y
    Quote from @Nick Rutkowski:

    @Nathan Gesner for the beginner guys who are going to read this post. What methods would you suggest to screen potential tenants? 


    Read a book, or even a blog like this one:  Application Screening Guide

    If the landlord had called the previous landlord (me) they would have immediately denied her.

    "What if she lies and claims to have owned a home, or uses a friend's address instead of the rental address?"

    Run a credit check, which will include her address history and the dates she lived at each one. When the credit report addresses don't match her application, you deny her and move on.

    Any landlord running a credit check on her after 05/01/2024 will see her credit report has a $12,000 collection from a property manager, and that should be an automatic denial.

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  • Drew SygitBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    1y

    @Nathan Gesner too funny!

    Hopefully, she'll just move this time.

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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    1y
    Quote from @Drew Sygit:

    @Nathan Gesner too funny!

    Hopefully, she'll just move this time.


     Yes, hopefully right back to where she came from. 

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  • Jill F.
    Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    1y

    @Nathan Gesner I know! This morning I evicted an inherited tenant in a building that I"ve now owned for just over a year.  I did public record searches on all the tenants while I was in the process of buying the building just so I'd know who I was going to be dealing with. The guy I bought the building from rented to said tenant WHILE HE WAS IN THE PROCESS of being evicted from another property.The tenant was a borderline hoarder that quit paying rent in December and then left the place a mess. The landlord across the street rented to him AFTER I was granted a writ by the court and just two days before his move out date with my eviction easily viewable in court records???!!!! It's baffling. It's probably not going to end well for that landlord.

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  • Maranda TuckerPro Member
    Property Manager · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2022 · 152 posts · 118 votes
    1y
    Quote from @Jill F.:

    @Nathan Gesner I know! This morning I evicted an inherited tenant in a building that I"ve now owned for just over a year.  I did public record searches on all the tenants while I was in the process of buying the building just so I'd know who I was going to be dealing with. The guy I bought the building from rented to said tenant WHILE HE WAS IN THE PROCESS of being evicted from another property.The tenant was a borderline hoarder that quit paying rent in December and then left the place a mess. The landlord across the street rented to him AFTER I was granted a writ by the court and just two days before his move out date with my eviction easily viewable in court records???!!!! It's baffling. It's probably not going to end well for that landlord.


    We actually had this happen to us twice last year (at the same time, in 2 different units)! We relied too heavily on AppFolio's screening process, which doesn't update with our county's records fast enough. 

    Learned that lesson the hard way. Never again.

    806-685-1818
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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    1y
    Quote from @Maranda Tucker:

    Most county records aren't public. Even if they have a public record in your county, they may have issues in another county that are not disclosed. Fortunately, people with criminal records typically have other issues like bad credit or landlord references.


    The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
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    1Reply
  • Maranda TuckerPro Member
    Property Manager · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2022 · 152 posts · 118 votes
    1y
    Quote from @Nathan Gesner:
    Quote from @Maranda Tucker:

    Most county records aren't public. Even if they have a public record in your county, they may have issues in another county that are not disclosed. Fortunately, people with criminal records typically have other issues like bad credit or landlord references.


    True. The main lesson for us was that there is still a level of due diligence that our team must perform regardless of screening software. We were just really lucky to not have any major issues pop up until last year. 
    806-685-1818
    2Reply
  • Ned J.Pro Member
    Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    1y

    This baffles me.... how can you do NO screening? Crazy.... you are letting someone you dont know live in possibly the biggest investment in your life.... and you dont check out who they are???.....crazy

    Do these people just hand over the keys to their car also and hope it comes back ok?

    1Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    1y

    Some of them are the type that believe people are inherently good. Others are gullible. Some "go with their gut" which is a bad way to measure someone's financial responsibility.

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  • Carlos Hennings
    Lancaster, NY · Member since 2021 · 92 posts · 53 votes
    1y

    This is a perfect example of why screening is so important! A tenant’s past behavior is often the best predictor of their future behavior, and skipping screening can cost landlords thousands in unpaid rent and damages.

    But here’s the thing—not all background checks are created equal. Some instant reports pull surface-level data and miss key red flags like evictions, judgments, and liens (which no longer show on credit reports). Others don’t verify identity, making it easier for someone with a bad history to slip through.

    A thorough screening process that includes ID verification, eviction history, and verified income data can help landlords avoid situations like this. A little extra diligence upfront is worth it to protect your property, your cash flow, and your sanity!

    1Reply
  • Tricia O'Brien
    Investor · Anchorage, AK · Member since 2015 · 267 posts · 76 votes
    1y

    @CArlos 

    @Carlos Hennings what type of liens are no longer visible on credit reports?  Is it possible to have liens on something other that a property that one owns or a car one owns?

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  • Carlos Hennings
    Lancaster, NY · Member since 2021 · 92 posts · 53 votes
    1y

    Great question! Since 2018, the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) have stopped including most tax liens and all civil judgments on consumer credit reports. This was part of the National Consumer Assistance Plan, which aimed to improve the accuracy of credit data and reduce the chances of reporting errors.

    These records haven’t disappeared—they just aren’t included in credit reports anymore. If you want to review them, you’d need to run a separate search, like a Judgments & Liens check.

    Its highly unlikely that any civil judgement and most tax liens would not appear on a consumers credit report as all three credit bureaus have stopped reporting these records since 2018. This change, implemented by the National Consumer Assistance Plan, is designed to benefit consumers by making their credit reports more accurate and easier to correct errors. These records must now be pulled separately.

    0Reply
  • Tricia O'Brien
    Investor · Anchorage, AK · Member since 2015 · 267 posts · 76 votes
    1y

    @Carlos Hennings If I did the basic credit check through Appfolio, are there other companies that offer the "Judgement and Liens" check as a stand-alone service I could pay for or the applicant could pay for?

    0Reply
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