Oh no. Your rental property has been sitting empty for some time and starting to weigh on you. As a landlord, a vacant unit can cause some stress and might lead you to skip tenant screening.

While this may fill your vacant property quickly, you should always screen any potential tenant. Tenant screening is essentially an in-depth tenant background check that protects you as the landlord.

To find out exactly why tenant screening is important, keep reading.

1. Creates Peace of Mind

The first and biggest reason to screen potential new tenants is that it creates peace of mind. As a landlord, you’re never guaranteed to get a great tenant. When you skip the screening process you open yourself up to accepting just about anybody, including convicted criminals.

By screening tenants, you have the opportunity to learn more about your tenants. It also allows you to legally deny anyone who doesn’t qualify.

Thorough and proper tenant screening also allows you to protect your reputation as a real estate investor.

Let’s say your investment property is in a flat in a high-rise luxury apartment building, alongside several other landlords. If you lease your apartment out to a bad tenant, you run the risk of bringing down the building’s reputation, and yours. As a result, other, better tenants, may avoid your property in the future, causing a terrible negative circle.

2. Protects Your Property and Neighborhood

Building on the previous point, tenant screening doesn’t only protect your reputation, but your property and the neighborhood or building.

Rental properties are bound to show some wear and tear over time. It’s normal for your property to need some repairs or touch-ups between tenancies. It all ultimately falls under property maintenance.

But some tenants can leave your property in terrible condition, leaving you, the landlord, with a big bill of repairs on your hands.

But if you screen your tenants, you can easily avoid these kinds of nasty surprises. One of the best ways to screen tenants for past tenancy transgressions is by working with a property management company.

Property managers help you manage your property, so you don’t have to fret about the small stuff. Searching for a property manager can be tough, so check out this article on the mistakes you should avoid.

3. Ensures Payment

One of the biggest reasons to perform a tenant screening is that it’ll ensure your rent gets paid. For landlords and property managers alike, getting paid on time is extremely important. It’s just the reality of life.

At the end of the day, your property is an investment, so if you’re not getting paid on time, it’s money out of your pocket. By screening tenants, you can get an idea of their past tenancy history. You can easily weed out any applicants that have a bad credit history, evictions, and missed payments to previous landlords.

Why Invest in Tenant Screening Services

Tenant screening is an important part of being a real estate investor. But it can be overwhelming. If you’re a Texas landlord needing some help managing your real estate investments, then hiring Texas property management companies may be in your best interest. Texas Property managers help with several aspects of leasing out rental properties. Including: