93% of landlords in a recent study said they'd experienced application fraud in the past year. It included fraudulent pay stubs, misrepresented references, and even false identities. The best way to spot these issues is through a thorough tenant screening process.
Having a professional help you is like a club hiring a bouncer. They make sure only those who are welcome can get in.
Read on to learn the benefits of outsourcing tenant screening for Redwood City, CA landlords.
Saving Time and Money
First-time landlords may be surprised by how much time and effort tenant screening takes. Outsourcing takes a process that may have taken you days and gets it done in hours.
It lets you respond to applicants while they're interested and before they move on to another property. It frees up your time you can use to grow your business.
Your tenant screening costs will also go down. A property management company knows the best services to use. They can get you bulk discounts by charging for a package instead of each tenant.
Comprehensiveness
Screening also can't skip any steps. It needs to look over all available tenant data, including:
- Credit history
- Criminal history
- Rental history
- Eviction history
- Employment history
- Tenant references
Skipping any of them could be an open door for a dangerous or delinquent tenant to walk through. Outsourcing the process makes it much more comprehensive and complete.
Consistency
Tenant screening needs to be done the same way every time to be effective. Personal errors or biases can get in the way of that.
Give your tenant screening to a professional company and you'll notice fewer errors. They pore over every background check to make sure all information is valid. They also work as a non-biased third party that doesn't know your tenants.
This consistency helps you get better tenants and prevents you from running into legal issues.
Reduced Liability
What's worse than taking the time to screen a tenant only to realize you made an error? Wasting that time and getting into legal trouble for it.
There are laws surrounding the tenant credit check. They regulate how you get credit reports and what you can do with them.
Always adhere to the Fair Housing Act and judge every tenant the same way. California has protected characteristics that go beyond the ones at the federal level, including:
- Age
- Ancestry
- Citizenship
- Source of income
- Sexual orientation
- Primary language
- Marital or familial status
- Immigration status
- Genetic information
- Gender identity or expression
- Veteran status
- Occupation
Refusing housing or changing your screening practices based on these categories is considered discrimination. You could be hit with a major lawsuit.
Outsourcing your tenant screening shields you from this liability. You'll get a team of legal experts and won't have to study law books or worry about lawsuits.
Where to Outsource Tenant Screening
PMI Redwood Realty is a full-service real estate asset management company. We have a local team with over 25 years of experience in the Bay Area.
This knowledge of the local market and laws lets us find you the best tenants who'll provide consistent rental income. Contact us to see how we can maximize the value of your assets in the short and long term today.
