You may be a property manager or real estate professional who still accepts documentation directly from tenants, accepting them in the approval process without direct verification. You simply cannot afford to do this anymore. Whether fraudulent documents or identities, those who commit fraud are often good at doing so. The only way to protect yourself and your clients is to verify the information directly at the source.

So, what do tenant background checks typically include?

1.  ID verification: This ensures the identity of the person you are dealing with.
2.  Credit check: A TransUnion Credit Report will enable you to validate payment habits and, if they provide you with a credit report, you could validate if they provided truthful and accurate information.
3.  Employment verification: This validates the information in the paystub and job letter and ensures that the applicant’s income is as stated.
4.  Reference checks: This helps to validate candidate character.
5.  Criminal record check: With information directly from police and government sources, this ensures that the applicant is safe to live on the property.
6.  Social media check: A tool that flags violence and other problematic behaviour that may influence your decision to rent.

The time and resources it takes to directly verify the above information is considerable, which is why many professionals don’t directly verify or only directly verify what they deem important. Believe it or not, collectively, these checks don’t even cost $150.00 and many property managers pass this cost to applicants through their application fees. Others choose to offer access to background checks where the applicant pays.

Some background checks (criminal for example) can be delivered in as little as 15 minutes, while others can be delivered in hours.

Some property managers and real estate sales professionals see tenant background checks as a commitment, especially when it comes to opening an account. With Triton:

  • There are no minimums.
  • You benefit from low corporate rates right out of the gate.
  • There is no cost to register and, often, your account can be opened the same day.
  • You can register online.
  • The service is pay-as-you-go, so you only pay for the background checks and verifications you request.
  • If you want applicants to pay for their checks directly, you can open a “they pay” account.

It doesn’t get much easier than that. There is nothing but benefits to obtaining tenant background checks on your applicants. You can approve applications faster and identify problematic applications quickly, all while mitigating fraud and risk for you and your clients. You can even leverage tenant background checks in your marketing, highlighting the superior services you offer to clients that, subsequently, give you a competitive edge.

For more information about tenant background checks and tenant screening visit: https://www.tritoncanada.ca/tenant-screening