Leasing your property for rent in India is a good bet to get the regular returns on your investments. You not only get the monthly rent but also stay assured that your property is being regularly maintained with tenants living there. However, sometimes these great returns may be tagged along with a bundle of problems just because you have chosen a bad tenant. That’s why you need to be extra careful while choosing the tenant for your property.
But the main problem that arises here is that any tenant can appear to be the best tenant in his/her online application or meeting. So how do you identify whether a person is a good or bad tenant? No worries, you just need to perform a background check on the potential renter to ensure that you lock the deal with the suitable tenant.
That said; here are some tips that would help you strategically perform a background check to find the right tenant.
Get An Application With The Necessary Information Filled
The first step you need to do as a landlord is to set out your own application form. You need to create a personalized application form as per the details you require. It is important that you add in all the necessary questions regarding the information you need from the potential tenant. The questions regarding the financial information, credit history, employment information, and personal information need to be included in the application form that you want the tenant to fill. It should have questions about the current and previous employers, income level, number of pets, lifestyle habits, contact information of previous landlords etc. This will help you get an idea of the person’s background as a tenant.
Research Their Identity Online
The cases of tenants using fake identities have skyrocketed in the past few years. To avoid facing any fake tenant you should verify their identity. Even after going through the application filled in by your potential tenant, it is important that you do a personal research of their identity online as well. Be it Google, Yahoo or any other social media channel like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram etc., search for their online footprints on the web. All the information you find online about the person should be cross-checked with the information they have provided in the application form to ensure their credibility. The past criminal or fraudulent records can also be found online by digging a bit deeper.
Check Their Credit History
Don’t blindly trust the credit report that your potential tenant has provided with the application form. You can contact any credit reporting agency and pull a second credit report on the person easily. Using the person’s name, current address and the taxpayer identification number that the tenant has provided in the application, you can pull a second credit report to check the authenticity of the report the person has provided. The current credit situation of the tenant would help you understand whether the person would be able to pay the debts on time or would he/she struggle with the same.
Interview Them Personally
This is one of the most important tips that a landlord must keep in mind while doing a background check on the tenant. Many landlords avoid interviewing the potential tenants personally and just rely on the real estate agent to interview the person. You do want to make sure how the person is and whether or not he/she would be able to blend in the society. By meeting them in person, you will be able to get an idea of their lifestyle and even get them talking about various concerning topics like maintenance, eating/drinking/smoking habits, partying habits, and who else might live with them etc.
Have A Talk With Their Current Landlord
Another important thing that you need to do, as a landlord, is to have a chit-chat with the current landlord of the potential tenant. They can tell you a lot about the person than any type of application or research. You can ask about what type of tenant the person is, their rent paying habits, their adherence to the lease agreement, did the neighbors had any complaints against them, did they cause any type of damage to the property etc.
A background check on the tenant is undoubtedly important to make sure that you do not get duped in the process. By following these tips you can check whether the tenant has been honest with the information provided or not. These tips will ensure that you have the necessary background information without violating any of the privacy laws in favor of the tenants.
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