Hi all, I'm getting a new tenant for my 2 family rental and wonder how to screen a new tenant? I've had the property for 25 yrs but only 4 tenants and one for 25 yrs and the others were friends or family of friends so I had some reference. Now this person is unknown to me. Thanks for any advice.

Get the prospective tenant's permission to run a background check and then hire a firm or Private Investigator to do the investigation.

I have never found that talking to previous landlords was helpful. If the landlord hated the tenant I got a glowing recommendation because the landlord wanted the tenant out of his place; if the tenant was a pain the landlord was afraid, legally, to say anything.

Check to see if there is a landlord's association in your area. If you join they may have a service for background checks. Otherwise, hire a PI as Judy suggested. You can charge a fee to offset your costs.

You also want to check personal references, not because they won't praise the applicant, but to make sure they exist in case you need to contact them. Also ask to see a current paystub to verify income.

Draw up an application, asking every question you can think of, from all addresses of the last 10 years, to pets, children, smoking, and even pests where they live now such as cockroaches and bedbugs. They might lie of course, but you have the denial in writing.
You can't ask any questions that fall under civil rights (race, religion, gender, disability are the main ones). You don't have to make your building accessible for physical disability.

Then write your terms about the above and more: deposits, penalties for late rent, no partial rent, bounced checks, damage, noise, painting, holes in walls, how many cars, occupants not on lease, anything you can possibly think of. Be specific about what you will evict for.

My sister has a condo she rents out in a college town, and she requires direct deposit of rent, and either solid evidence of income or a co-signer. Works great.

Joy, my only problem with getting info and not checking it out (and some info cannot be checked out without assistance) is you get info, just that and no more.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

Joy, my only problem with getting info and not checking it out (and some info cannot be checked out without assistance) is you get info, just that and no more.

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Which info? Bugs are the ones I meant that are difficult to check out.