One of the best ways to ensure property management is smoother is to have stable, reliable residents who pay on time. It's possible to increase your odds of securing these types of residents by taking the precautionary measure of screening. Here are a few tips to follow when implementing your own screening process.

Credit Checks

Services like Equifax are the frontline for people to go to when it comes to an accurate, accessible way to check someone's credit. A credit check should be one of the first things you do when it comes to screening residents, as this will be your earliest indicator—or in some cases, red flag—about their ability to handle the financial commitment of reliably making a monthly payment.

Consult Public Records

In addition to credit checks, it's often possible to legally obtain access to other types of public information. For example, if people have been evicted in the past, eviction records may exist for this. Similarly, records for crimes such as fraud and other illegal activities can also be publicly accessed. All of this gives you an early warning if a potential resident applicant might be trouble.

Social Media

Finally, while it's not true for everyone, the vast majority of people have publicly accessible social media accounts and regularly post to them. It's easy enough to do a quick check on these accounts to get a better picture of who these people are and whether there is anything that could be problematic if they become residents.

Also, keep in mind that you should be upfront about your preference to do some screening. It's a courtesy to applicants, but it can also be a barrier in and of itself. In some cases, the mere presence of a screening process dissuades more problematic residents from even applying.

If you want to ensure your residential property investment venture is successful, contact Occupancy Solutions and let us help.