tenant screening recommendations.

[sunshine]

I'm looking for a great service to screen tenants besides Smart Move. I would appreciate your advice.

[kwh03001]

The best article I have read on this subject is from the No Nonsense Landlord blog: http://www.nononsenselandlord.com/2014/05/four-pillars-tenant-screening/

I know you asked for a service, but in the DIY mustachian spirit, there is definitely money to be saved by doing some research yourself.

The author of that blog is also on the forum and seems to be very knowledgeable about landlord related matters.

[sunshine]

I had actually read that previously. I did all the due diligence I can do on my own and now need to run the formal credit check. I just picked one  online. They all seem similar. Submit , pay, have tenant approve the check online, view.

[clarkfan1979]

I have tenants turn in a freecreditreport.com They are typically college students that needs a parent to co-sign. All people on the lease are responsible for the full amount. If one person decides to move or not pay the other tenants and/or co-signer are still responsible for the full amount.

[Coach Carson]

Lately on a personal rental my wife and I own, we tried rentmarketplace.com to pull my screening reports. So far, so good. I own a lot of properties in a rental business as well, and we use Buildium.com (our management software) to pull reports. It only costs $15/report.

For the overall process of screening, I've always liked Brandon Turner's Ultimate Guide to Tenant Screening at BiggerPockets.com. It's got a very helpful infographic explaining the process as well: https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/27/tenant-screening/

I also had a tenant screening expert do a guest post on my site to explain her recommended step-by-step process. It was also very helpful:
http://www.coachcarson.com/how-screen-best-tenants/

I'm curious why you said not Smartmove.com? Bad experience?

[NoNonsenseLandlord]

The best article I have read on this subject is from the No Nonsense Landlord blog: http://www.nononsenselandlord.com/2014/05/four-pillars-tenant-screening/

I know you asked for a service, but in the DIY mustachian spirit, there is definitely money to be saved by doing some research yourself.

The author of that blog is also on the forum and seems to be very knowledgeable about landlord related matters.

Thank you for the mention and compliments!

I use mccgrp.com.  They will require a on-site inspection.

Make sure you have criteria in place, BEFORE you start screening.