Aside from a detailed and sound lease agreement, there are three easy steps that would help you avoid being the victim of late or unpaid rentals.
1. Let your prospective tenant fill out a pre-printed application form where you outline sufficient data about his identification. You should want your tenant to provide you with all information about himself. With this, your prospective tenant should provide his:
· His full name (aliases and maiden name included);
· His date of birth;
· His social security number;
· Current address and last two addresses, if this prospective tenant has previous landlords. It would be better if you could ask them to provide the names of their previous landlord, the amount of rent he pays, and his reason for leaving;
· Last two billing statements (such as electric or water bill) from his previous address;
· Employment information, including salaries;
· Other sources of income aside from employment;
· List of regular monthly bills, like school fees, car amortization or loan payments;
· Copies of identification cards
· At least two references or contact persons in case of emergencies.
2. Conduct background and credit checks. Background and credit checks are an important step to ensure you are not dealing with a bad tenant. It is even helpful to let your prospective tenant know that you are going to conduct background and credit checks. You weed out potentially bad tenants with background and credit checks. Here are some important notes.
· Avoid tenants without previous credit records because you have no way of checking his payment history.
· Large gaps in credit record may indicate a potential problem. Be sure to investigate it.
3. Follow up on the references provided. Friends or family members are not good references. The most helpful ones are previous landlords and employers.