Every year toward the middle of summer fresh high school graduates across the country turn their attention to leaving home and attending college. Some will move thousands of miles and others will stay close to home, but a large percentage of these new college students will be living on their own in a rented property for the first time.
Many large colleges and universities can provide on-campus housing, often pairing up two or more students in dorms. Additionally, housing can be provided in a rental type situation whereas the student can pick those that may share the apartment.
But demand often outweighs supply and that creates a situation of almost near desperation for the student and their families.
It can create a crisis of time management for small property or single-unit landlords as well. In order to fill properties the temptation to cut corners may exist. But it is important to remain vigilant and conduct a thorough vetting process of a college student just as one might with a long-term renter. And a tenant check is central to the vetting process.
A tenant check helps a landlord in three main areas:
1. Protecting the property. Tenant screening can provide information on a potential tenant or tenants by reviewing information retrieved from public records or through verification of personal recommendations, previous residence, and related.
2. Protecting the community. While smaller landlords may not have much of a community to protect, it is important to ensure the safety and security of existing tenants, or, in terms of renting a room or apartment attached to a garage, the family.
3. Protecting the investment. Running credit information on an incoming freshman may not make sense, but savvy landlords know running a credit check on guarantors such as parents or other relatives makes perfect sense. Often rentals are not even in the student’s name. Running a credit check on the individual or individuals that pay the rent is a best practice.
A tenant background check of college-aged renters also assists the community at large. Conducting a national sex offender registry check should be a part of a tenant check. While the incoming freshman may be free of any sexual malfeasance, older students may have a troubled past. It is incumbent on any landlord to protect the greater community.
Moreover, a tenant check conducted on a college-aged student must be as thorough as a tenant check conducted on more traditional, long-term renters. Treating a potentially short-term rental equal to a longer-term rental makes sense, and will provide surety in the relationship between landlord and tenant.
Adam Almeida, President and CEO of TenantScreeningUSA.com states: “Protecting people and property is at the core of tenant screening and owners of small unit apartment complexes or a family renting out a room or garage apartment should remain diligent.”
Working with a third-party tenant screening company such as TenantScreeningUSA.com would be the smartest step a small unit/single-family dwelling landlord could take. Not only can a third-party gather all the public documents required, such as evictions, sex offender registry, criminal history, and credit reports; a third-party can review all personal recommendations.
Almeida states: “Sometimes the most important piece of information a young college student can provide is a personal reference. Verification would be vital.”
In the end, the key to happy renter/landlord relationship is a tenant check. Allowing a landlord to make a well-informed decision based on public records, personal references, and tenant screening, will help create a harmonious relation with a tenant.
TenantScreeningUSA.com provides full service background screening to landlords and property managers of any size. Whether it is a long-term permanent rental, or a relatively short-term student rental, TenantScreeningUSA.com offers complete tenant background check solutions. For more information contact www.TenantScreeningUSA.com today.
