Rental Application

Rental application should be completed 100%. The first sign of a "sneaky" applicant is leaving gaps in the form. Be sure that all the dates are complete and you have their social security number and drivers license. Make sure you have copies of their last 2 paycheck stubs.

It's a common scenario. A bad renter will skip from property to property, looking for the naive landlord who doesn't do a proper background check. So they fill out the rental applicant with all sorts of false information that makes them look like the "perfect renter". Great income, long-term references, and all the other tidbits that make you think they're trustworthy.

But don't be fooled! Ask questions and follow up on every piece of information they give you, particularly through the use of modern background checks. These days, there just isn't any excuse for not checking everything the potential tenant puts down on their rental application. Savvy property owners know there are too many bad poeople out there looking to take advantage of a landlord that is too trusting. It's just not worth taking the risk when a bad outcome can cost you thousands, if not 10s of thousands of dollars. A simple standardized process of checking their information can save you untold headaches in the future.

Review the >rental application form and make sure that all the documents that they give you match the information that they put on the form. If you do not have a rental application, you can use this one by clicking here (requires free Acrobat reader).