Tenant referencing check list

If you have a tenant all lined up to rent your property, you’d best take a second and consider how you want to move forward with this tenant.  It is advisable to find out as much as you can about a tenant before renting them anything!! Enter tenant referencing.

You need to consider all the information needed in order to run a tenant reference.  It is advisable to credit check your tenant, reference their previous landlord and also their current employer to find out as much as you can about their financial responsibility, there landlords previous experience and if they are in stable employment.

In order to reference your tenant correctly you will need them to provide you with the following details first:

• Their full name
• Their current address as well as their addresses for the past three years
• Their employers name and email address
• Their current salary
• Their previous landlords name and email address
• A copy of their ID – passport or drivers licence, mostly for your own peace of mind and records.

If all of this seems a lot to gather, there is no need to worry, many websites assist landlords and property agents in carrying out these checks – often offering FREE landlord and employer references.  The best part is that they will provide you will all the paper you need your new tenant to fill out, hard copy or through email!  All the paper work has the correct legal declaration for background checks making your life much easier.  Online tenant referencing is one less thing a landlord or letting agent has to worry about.

 

To Let or not to Let

Here’s a question – is it better to rent your property quickly to the first tenant willing to give there bank details, or wait, with the risk of leaving it unoccupied for a little longer, for the ideal, dream tenant through tenant referencing.

Now, I’m sure when it comes to the perfect tenant there is no such thing – no-one is perfect, but people can be ideal and fit a situation well.  But, with most things that are ideal, they take a while to find and you may be on for a bit of a hunt!

I guess the questions is, does it make sense to wait, to leave the property unoccupied to have a good tenant, that pays and looks after your property.  Or is it better to jump right in with a tenant you are unsure of, who maybe isn’t so financially stable, whose employment is variable?

I think i would side with the first option; i’m not much of a risk taker, who wants to take risks with things like this.  Tenant referencing helps take the mystery out of the whole process, to fill in the gaps of the stories so you know if your tenant is the ideal one you were looking for, or just another chancer who was hoping there would be no credit referencing this time!!!  Waiting, and patience is a virtue, may be the best decision you make, it could save you the hassle of a rushed decision which leads to a troublesome tenant.  Troublesome tenants come in all shapes and sizes from the ones who don’t pay, to the ones who wreck the joint, to the ones who keep pets without your permission.

Tenant referencing is the way forward, it can make rushed decisions easier to make, especially if you find you have a great tenant after referencing right there.  Referencing your tenants online is easy and even if you have to turn a few tenants away because they don’t meet your ideal tenant then so be it – all in the name of finding the ideal one!!

 

Get a landlord reference to protect yourself from the unknown

If you are considering renting your property to a new tenant, you don’t know them, they are not recommended or a friend of a friend who knows a friend, or even if this tenant is all of the above- you must get a landlord reference.

I know you are busy, rushing around, doing all sorts with no hours left in the day, which is why getting a landlord reference we be one the easiest things you do all day (sighs with relief).

Sit down, get a cup of tea and log on to a tenant referencing provider that allows you to conduct free landlord references and you’re on your way to an easy life, with good tenants!! Sounds good doesn’t it!!

Now,  If you have never performed a previous landlord reference before then no need to panic because it’s dead easy.  All you need from your tenant is there previous landlord’s name and email address.  As many services have to cater for those who have not joined the online world and do not have such things as email address you are best to find a provider which allows you to phone the landlord and fill in the easy form yourself and save it online in your secure account ( these are free to join up to).

The landlord referencing form which is emailed to the landlord to fill out online covers questions such as did the tenant pay you on time, did they keep the place in a good condition, would you recommend this tenant to the next landlord, there is even a box for the landlord to add in any extra information that they wish to divulge.  Most tenan’t are good, and good references are obtained.  But, just on the off chance that you have picked up a bad apple, best to check and make sure you want to accept them into your property.

I wonder where this tenant lives now!

I wonder where this tenant lives now!!

A landlord got a shock recently when he realised what his ‘tenants from hell’ had done to his property.  The property in Briton Ferry was left in a state after a family moved out leaving piles of rubbish and bin bags throughout the property.  The landlord’s son was reportedly shocked that a child had been living there.

The property had been trashed throughout with around 500 rubbish bags left lying around, along with flies.  The landlord had not been able to access the property while the family had been staying there.

In the end the family had just left, leaving no contact number with the landlord footing the bill to clean up the mess.

Now, tenant referencing is one thing, but regular property checks have to be another.  The next door neighbour had reported the family to the council the year before!!! Make friends with the neighbours of the property so you can be warned if there is problem!!  Make regular checks on the property to make sure that it is kept in a good state, most tenants won’t mind this, if they are good tenants. If a tenant resistant in this idea, then insist some more!!

I wonder if these tenants will ask for a landlord reference, i can imagine what it would say.  Landlord references are so important to insist on – it will give you insight into a tenant’s previous behaviour.  You can often access free landlord reference on tenant screening websites.  Take advantage of these offers to find out the truth about your tenants!!!

Residential rental arrears get better for landlords.

The financial times has revealed that over the past three months one fifth of residential landlords have had tenants in rental arrears.

This research was based on some research conducted by the National Landlords association.  Within the first quarter of 2010 24.5% of landlords had seen an issue with non paying tenants.  The outstanding rents now average £800, which is lower than the previous £1000 average at the beginning of the year.

The NLA has also set up a special site to help landlords who are struggling with tenant in rental arrears.

So, a that is quite a few landlords with tenants struggling to pay rent.  But things are looking up with less having trouble. These sorts of statistics only help to confirm, that tenant referencing is a good idea. See if your tenant has defaulted on rent before, and ask for a guarantor reference if need be.

Referencing for tenants doesn’t have to be a hassle, but save you from rental arrears hassles.

Rental arrears reported to be rising.

According to a survey compiled by BDRC Continental rental arrears are at their highest level since records started back in 2006

The survey showed a massive 34% of landlords being affected in the past 12 months by this rise in rental arrears, this is the highest proportion ever

This information also comes at a time when it is revealed that 23% more landlords filed repossession claims against tenants.

There was also a rise in the eviction of tenants with an increase from 17,000 to 21,000 in 2008.

I’m sure I had heard that landlord were feeling happier, I’m not sure how??

In these unstable times then protecting yourself from the tenant who doesn’t pay and need to be evicted it vital.  Non paying tenants and ones that need to be evicted cost YOU money.  Screen tenants thoroughly and check their previous landlord references for anything out of the ordinary.

Tenant Screening is cheap and quick and will make life easier in the long run.  I wonder if there was a survey to see which landlords were happy, landlord that screen their tenants or landlords that don’t.

3.5K award to gay tenant in compensation case

A man from South Belfast has been awarded a whooping 3.5K in compensation when he alleged that his landlord discriminated against him due to his sexual orientation.  He took his case to the Equality commission.

The south Belfast man says that he was evicted from this flat only because he was gay.  The man rented room in a house with other tenants for over a year and claims to have been verbally abused by the landlord outside of the property.  This verbal abuse was alleged to have been homophobic.

In June 2008 the man reporting this to the police.  The man then claims that he received a text from this landlord approximately one month later asking him to vacate the property on the ground of personal attack of the other tenants or himself the landlord.  The tenant replied that he did not want to leave, and received no response for two months.  By time a response was given the tenant had signed another lease and packed to move.

I’m all about tenant referencing, but reference your tenant professionally and not on peoples sexuality.  The landlord lost on this one big time and forked out a good sum of money for his out dated thinking.

Landlords Still Happy!!!

Research conducted by BDRC Continental showed that landlords continued to feel happy about future prospects over the next three months. 500 landlords were included in the research and a 57% of them saw their business looking good over the next three months.

79 % of landlords said they are making profits

32% said they were making enough profit to be saving money

48% of professional landlords with 20 properties or more also said they were making enough to be saving money.

So still things looking up, landlords are happy, well 57% of them, i guess the rest just aren’t there yet. If as a landlord or professional landlord you like this happy feeling you’ve got, and want to hold onto it for as long as possible, then screen your tenants.  Life is easier when you do tenant screening and when life is easier then people are happy!!!

All you need to know about online tenant referencing.

Does it give me the information i need?

Online tenant referencing will give you all the information you need to decide if you want to accept a tenant into your property.  Most importantly you will see if a tenant has any active CCJ’s, which are county court judgements.  CCJ’s are for people who have not paid their debt, so may not be a suitable tenant as their credit rating will be bad.  You will also see if a tenant is on the electoral register and if they have had any bankruptcies in their past.

 How long does it actually take to get a credit score?

Its super quick to get a credit score, where it takes pretty much no time at all.  All you need is the tenants details to input into the online tenant referencing system you chose.  Most good service providers will give you a form which the tenant should fill out so you know you have all the details you need.  Once you have this information, and popped it into the online system, which maybe takes 5 minutes, you click for your credit check and get instant results with detailed information.  So getting your tenant credit check reference  online is quick and easy.

 Can i get references from employers and previous landlords when i apply for the credit score?

You can get references checks for previous landlords and employers on an online system, if you do your research some online providers will do this service for free!!  Most of these reference services are thorugh online email systems which generate and reference questionnaire for the referee to fill out online.  The great thing is that these online questionnaires are quick and very easy to complete, making chances of getting your response back much quicker.

Wealthy foreign students make London’s west end a good investment proposition.

Landlords rental prices in the west end of London are rising due to a trend for foreign students coming to study in London with larger than average accommodation budgets.

LDG, a specialist west end estate agency has noted that there is a lack of good quality properties to rent in areas such as Bloomsbury. This creates a good opportunity for landlords to buy to let in this area. It is suggested that some of the foreign students coming into the area and looking for flats have budgets up to and above £1000 per week.  This budget is not for the run of the mill student digs where most poor and struggling students find themselves but they are looking for high quality apartments, which are centrally located.  Apparently location is the number one issue for students looking for a flat; they want it to be close to their university with amenities close by for them.

According to LDG, most of these students with larger than average student budgets are coming from Asia, the Middle East, Europe or Russia,  these groups also apparently will often be paying in cash.  Unless these foreign students have a relative in the UK as a co-signer then they must pay a minimum of 6 months up-front.  It is suggested to be the case that around 90% of these students are happy to do so.  Six months rent on about £1000 a week is £25,000 that wealthy foreign students will cough up for the right place in the right location.

So it looks good, up-front rent for 6 months at a good price.  Let’s all go to Bloomsbury, not to live – I’ve heard its getting kind of pricey.

However, even if your tenant is paying 6 months up front maybe still have a look at getting some tenant screening from a previous landlord or employer- as great as £25,000 of rent up front is a chance to up at, you won’t want to be paying £25,000 in damages if they wreck the place.  Also be weary of tenant looking to pay upfront, make regular inspections to make sure all is well and property is being looked after.  Tenant screening is always necessary no matter how much they are offering you.