Landlords: One simple check that could save you lots of money and stress
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Now that you have collected references for your tenants from their last two landlords, you are well on your way to gathering enough information to determine if they are suitable or not.
This next tip will go a long way to ensuring you pick a tenant who will not only pay their rent on time but pay it in full. Failure to carry out this check could result in a loss of rental income, and put your property at risk, so ignore it at your peril!
So what kind of check is this? Yes that’s right, we’re talking about the credit check here. This check should cover things like the verification of their current address, their employment status as well as their earnings. This should confirm they are who they say they are and that they are fully employed and earning enough money to cover the rent, as well as their living expenses.
A credit check will also tell you if they are free from insolvency, bankruptcy, debt proceedings or CCJs. Taking on a client who has a bad track record when it comes to paying what they owe and managing their finances, could be a recipe for disaster.
Carrying out a credit check for any tenants that make it to the final stages of the application process is easier to do than it sounds. Simply acquire the services of a credit-checking company, who will do all the leg work for you for a modest fee. Look online for one to make this task even easier to complete or we could do all this for you.
In the next tip I will discuss when it is prudent to ask for a guarantor to finish off the tenant selection process.
P.s.
Don’t forget to act on this tip; carrying out a vital credit check can hugely reduce the risk of landing yourself a problem tenant. See you on my next blog.
