Pleased to lease you: How property owners/managers benefit from tenant screening

The rental market in Utah is more competitive than ever. As the sales prices of homes increase, so do the number of renters who are priced out of purchasing a home. Property owners/managers have no shortage of choices to fill vacancies. But which person in that applicant pool is right for your property? Before you hastily swipe right on any anticipative tenant, it’s important to do some research to make sure the match is good and mitigate your risk. 

A formal screening process helps predict whether or not an applicant is likely to uphold their lease agreement. Information pertaining to a person’s financial, criminal and rental history can be obtained with their consent. But it can be incredibly time consuming for a property owner or manager — especially someone with multiple investment properties —  to establish and execute a comprehensive screening process on their own. 

KSL Homes’ Tenant Screening feature simplifies the process and reduces turnover. We’ve identified the most important information for you to base your decision on, and the benefits are plentiful.

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See their full financial ability

Someone might tell you that they can afford your rent, and even provide the pay stubs to prove it. But that is far from the whole financial situation. Their credit history is also important. Knowing that everyone does not have   perfect credit, you’ll receive a scorecard with the applicant’s risk level based on their credit history when you use Tenant Screening on your Rent listings. The applicant’s rent-to-income ratio — another key factor to determine affordability and reliability —  is also calculated for you.  

Protect your investment

A background check from the National Criminal Database Alias is another part of our Tenant Screening feature. This helps you attract the right applicants and protect your investment. Those with extreme criminal histories may not apply at all, knowing they will likely be denied. The applicant’s risk level is calculated based on the severity of the crime (misdemeanor, felony, etc.) as well as the length of time since the conviction. The lower the risk level, the less likely you are to discover your investment property was used to manufacture illegal substances for six months or find damage from a series of domestic disputes.

Avoid evictions

Even if a tenant is disruptive, destructive or delinquent with payments, it might not be to the degree that you can easily evict them once they’ve signed a lease. And breaking up isn’t just hard to do — it’s also expensive. Court fees, lost rent, property repairs, and other costs add up quickly. While every scenario is different, evictions typically take 3-4 weeks and cost an average of $3,500.

KSL Homes’ Tenant Screening includes an eviction risk level based on a National Rental Records Database search. Landlord references are also included when applicable. You are more likely to weed out those who aren’t ready for a committed rental relationship when armed with this information. You’ll probably want to deny an application for someone with several evictions. Though, you might make an exception for someone who was evicted after losing their job during a recession but had rave reviews from all of their other landlords. The big picture matters when selecting tenants.

Prevent potential lawsuits

Property owners/managers are required to follow local and state laws pertaining to fair housing and discrimination. Denying an applicant simply because you checked out their social media accounts and saw photos of raging parties or used other informal evaluation methods could leave you vulnerable to potential lawsuits. Using a formal process like KSL Homes’ Tenant Screening allows you to maintain consistent standards. If you decide to require a cosigner, increase the security deposit or raise the rent because of information provided from the Tenant Screening report, you are required to send the  applicant an Adverse Action notice. 

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Make your listing more desirable

The goal of Tenant Screening on KSL Homes is to help property owners/managers and applicants find their ideal rental match. While the feature is free for property owners/managers, you can choose to make the $35 applicant screening fee refundable when they sign a lease for your property. This makes your listing stand out in the increasingly competitive rental market.  

Use Tenant Screening on your KSL Homes Rent listing to discover these and other benefits of the process (starting early September).