Screening is critical . . . be sure to select the right service

[Andy Sabisch]

Finding the ideal tenant is the goal of a long term rental property so being able to screen potential tenants is obviously the key to finding that tenant.

Like many that list their own properties, we use the Zillow Rental Manager to post listings.  Zillow offers potential tenants the ability to pay one fee and apply to multiple properties in a 30-day window.  The screening supposedly looks at income, credit rating and criminal background checks.  So far, it seems like a positive for tenants and landlords alike.  Well, let's look at our experience with this service on one of our units.

We had a potential tenant look at the apartment and liked it.  Him and his wife applied through Zillow Rental Manager and the report came back clean with income that supported the rent.  We agreed to rent to them and they moved in following paying the first month rent and security deposit.  That was to be the last on-time rent payment we would receive.  After excuses, delayed payments and the husband winding up in jail for 30 days, we filed for eviction with the magistrate.  

Now comes the kicker . . . we did a Google search on him and the first hit was an arrest booking report showing him in handcuffs.  Following up with the court docket search function, we turned up more than 15 interactions with the legal system for everything ranging from theft, assault, DWI, driving without a license, taking deposits for work and never coming back and an eviction.  Zillow's screening report showed NONE OF THESE when we received it!  Had we seen one of them, we would have selected another tenant and avoided a disaster where he is not paying and we are going through appeals and eviction.

Even the income reported by Zillow turns out they report what the tenant submitting the application provides - not a value that Zillow verifies.  A Google search of the Zillow Screening process shows similar experiences reported by others.

So if you are planning on relying solely on Zillow Screening, realize that there are some serious gaps / limitations in doing so.  Do a Google search and see what turns up.  Find out where your state records legal actions and see what turns up.  Use an alternative screening service that provides a deeper scrub (ask questions and verify what they do).  It may force tenants to pay for additional screening but it would have saved us the time and loss of rental income as we try to get this tenant out.

Be interested in hearing any other experiences and what screening tools you might use.