Did you know that rental vacancies in North Carolina can end up staying that way for almost an entire month?
Half the battle of running a successful rental property involves finding prospective tenants. There's also the risk of onboarding a tenant who doesn't pay their rent or causes other types of trouble. This is why background checks are so essential.
Are you stumped about how to do a tenant criminal background check? Keep reading to learn how to run a criminal background check on a prospective tenant in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Get Written Consent
Before you can get any kind of background check on a potential tenant, you should first ask them for permission. This involves having them sign an official consent form. Be sure to keep this in your files just in case.
There are also laws and regulations you should be aware of. For instance, the Fair Housing Act doesn't allow you to turn down a tenant based on their ethnicity, religion, color, gender, and more.
You also can't use the background check information in any way you see fit. Any information you have after a background check should only be used within the context of deciding whether a potential tenant will be reliable and lawful or not.
Work With a Background Check Provider
If you've gotten consent from the prospective tenant and are ready to run the background check, you'll be glad to know that you have options. There are many companies out there that can run a background check for a specified fee.
The type of information you get won't always be comprehensive. For instance, you can expect to learn about any criminal arrest record they may have. You'll also have access to financial info, employment status, and more.
If this sounds like a significant amount of work for a single potential tenant, don't worry. There are property management companies that can handle this task and many others, including advertising vacancies and collecting rent. This makes owning a rental property much easier.
Conduct an Interview
Before deciding if someone is fit for renting your property or not, it's a good idea to schedule an interview with someone. That way, they can give more detailed information if it's relevant to their specific situation.
It also gives you an opportunity to use your intuition and determine if the potential tenant is an upstanding citizen or not.
Ready to Run a Tenant Criminal Background Check?
Now that you've learned how to run a tenant criminal background check in Charlotte, North Carolina, you can feel much more confident when onboarding prospective renters.
We can offer you full-service property management in Charlotte. From finding and screening tenants to collecting rent and maintaining the property, we can do it all so that you only need to worry about cashing your checks each month.
Feel free to contact us to learn more about how we can help with every facet of running a rental property. We look forward to being of service.