Corra has seen an accelerated demand in its tenant screening services. The housing crash has steadily accelerated foreclosures, and now more former homeowners are looking to rent property. The fact that mortgages are so tough tom come by also creates a higher renters market. And then of course there are many people waiting on the sidelines for the housing prices to further depreciate, so they too are renting.
The housing crisis has also created financial and domestic issues that have led to more divorces and once married, now single parents and partners are looking for a place to live.
So if you are a property management group, leasing agent, or merely a guy with a couple of apartments to rent, the prudent move is to run background check on all your applicants. Your applicants may have stories, which are either simple or elaborate excuses as to why things are the way they are. They may assure you and beg you, but at the end of the day, if things go wrong, it is you left holding the bag.
Corra has heard the horror stories and has helped clients in need of advice. Our clients are decent people, and sometimes want to be assured that thing are not how they appear to be. But…usually they are how they appear to be. Suspicious and sketchy circumstances almost never pan out into better conditions.
If you are a landlord, you should be running tenant screening, including criminal and credit reports. It may pay to run eviction searches as well. An ounce of prevention and a few bucks is worth the pounds of cure and the thousands you will have to spend in court or in eviction proceedings.
So check them out before you rent to them.
