Tenant references..how to check?

[Valheru]

Hi all,
First time landlord and was wondering how other landlords check out their tenants? Is there a credit check agency that can be used, etc?

Thanks.

 

[Cityliving]

Not sure about credit check but I usually ask for:
1. Previous landlord
2. Current Employer (get a number off them then go through the company main desk to see if that person exits!)
3. Previous employer if possible
4. Bank Reference - never asked for one I dont know how they operate but I`ve heard about them

 

[casiopea]

Hi all,
First time landlord and was wondering how other landlords check out their tenants? Is there a credit check agency that can be used, etc?

Thanks.

This is a sore point for me. My experience was that information from previous landlord, current employer, previous employer does not gaurantee anything. I would use a management company to find your tenants rather than paper though it will cost you about 1 month rent but chancers have a tendency to go through the newspaper.
I would also encourage you to ask for 2 months deposit rather than 1. Then if someone skips rent one month you can give them 1 months notice and you are not out of pocket.

 

[liteweight]

With regard to Bank references:- when you decide to go with a particular tenant, ask for their bank account number and their account manager's name. You can ring up this person, firstly to see if they exist and secondly to ask for a reference. The most the account manager will tell you is whether the person has an account or not but they will write to the tenant and then he/she passes the letter on to the landlord on Bank stationary.

 

[hmmm]

Credit check? Who do you think you are?

The most any landlord has ever asked from me is a letter from employer which I was happy to give. I wouldn't give a landlord any bank details, that's none of their business - and why I give them a deposit. Never been asked for previous landlord reference (and I imagine that's easy to fake).

In the case of property management companies, they seem to just want to tick some boxes by asking for (say) an employer reference, I've rarely even met them in person. Individual landlords managing their own properties tend to want more of a chat to suss you out which is fair enough.

If I was into the investing business, I'd want to at a minimum meet the client for my own piece of mind (showing them around is a good way to do this).