QUOTE (surfermoe @ Jun 1 2009, 09:20 PM) I`ve seen recommendations on this forum for a few tenant-screening companies (e.g. RentCheckCorp.com, TenCheck) and checked out the fees for each.
There seems to be a big difference in the price that each of these companies charges for their services. RentCheckCorp.com charges $50 per search (credit and tenant check), and TenChek charges $15 (once you pay the $30 annual fee).
My wife and I only have 3 doors (for now). Any advice on how to pick an affordable - yet effective - service?
Moe
It`s good that your doing your due diligence on your tenants with a 3rd party...that extra step is awesome...it`s too bad the new identify theft laws prevent us from getting the credit report ourselves and from getting info from the LTB in Ontario. Getting the tenant to get their own credit report is something that I have done to get over the inability to check credit on my own (it saves the tenants from losing points from an unnecessary inquiry anyway).
Old fashion land-lording is still an absolute must..even if you are using these 3rd party companies.
Asking those tenant questions that rein provides (i based my own questionnaire on the REIN questions) is so awesome at teasing out information on whether they are the right tenant for you. I memorized them and ask the questions in conversation after building rapport with the applicant. I amaze myself at what I can get out of these folks.
Keep an eye on the competition to see what they are and aren`t offering. If I know what the competition is doing I have ammunition to not only sell the space, but also for putting them through the checks I have put in place (for example you could say: "I can imagine how crappy the stuff you seen previously must be. you don`t want to have a landlord that treats your place like garbage..I`m a professional property investors and I treat my tenants very well. You can understand why I do my checks don`t you?")
As for rentcheckcorp. Some people had good experiences with them...i did not. Simply put: Rentcheck corp is the most frustrating company i have ever dealt with. You think getting a mortgage while self-employed is tough? wait till you deal with this company.
Rentcheck has a through application process. My application was a fiasco and it took weeks before i finally gave up. They were constantly asking for more documents from me and it was out of the blue (they seemed to have simple requirements on their website which I promptly faxed)...i provided everything they requested and it felt that the person that was reviewing my application came up with something new to ask for me....their website said offer to purchase agreements and mortgage documents were proof enough to show I owned the property
Easy enough right?
They then asked for property tax records..so I sent them MPAC documents, then they told me I needed an official city property tax invoice (which cost me $13)....then they asked for an employment verification letter....umm I`m the landlord and a full time real estate investor?!?!...
I was allowing this to drag on because I wanted to get my potential tenants in and I invested so much time with them already. My applicants were calling me everyday because they didn`t want to be without a place before the beginning of the month...I was losing on potential tenants because the process for checking me was taking so long.
i finally gave up with them when they said they had to send someone to see the units and see my office...at my cost. It felt that they were just building their database for their business.
Happy Landlording
