Why you Should Screen Your Tenants

According to  Wikipedia Tenant screening is a process used primarily by residential landlords and property managers to evaluate prospective tenants. The purpose is to assess the likelihood the tenant will fulfill the terms of the lease or rental agreement and will also take great care of the rental property in question. The process culminates in a decision as to whether to approve the applicant, approve the applicant conditionally (such as requiring an increased deposit or cosigner) or deny tenancy. 

Successful tenant screening is among the most important items that a property manager or landlord can do to insure the success of investment in rental property. Cash flow (Rent) fuels every investment in rental property. It covers mortgages, property maintenance, taxes, insurance and modernization of the property. Effectively placing quality tenants in rental property insures that these expenses continue to get paid. Vacancy on a single family rental property is costly, but an occupied property with a non- paying tenant is disastrous. In addition to continuing to accumulate expenses, the landlord now has to go through the legal process of removing an adverse, non-paying party from the property. This process usually takes at least 30 days and in some cases can take over a year. Often an eviction ends with malicious damage to the property during the eviction process. Many investment properties become foreclosures when a tenant stops paying rent. 

There are two critical factors that a tenant must do to increase return on investment for a rental property: fulfill the terms of the lease (Pay rent ON TIME), and care for the property (Cause limited financial damage to the property). A landlord must do as much diligence as possible to increase the odds that these two items will take place. Luckily for landlords and property managers, the same tools employed by most lending institutions are available in some form to property managers and landlords. These tools can help answer whether or not a tenant is likely to pay their rent on time. A lease is basically an extension of credit to a tenant. A more difficult task for landlords is to determine whether or not a tenant will cause an acceptable amount of damage to the property (All tenants cause some damage).

Dave Borden

CEO • Royal Wine Taster

With a resume that includes West Point graduate, Captain of the West Point Team Handball team (which, interestingly, is also referred to as “Borden Ball” around the world. Google it. We’re not sure which name came first, but we’re pretty sure Dave could tell you), US Army Chinook helicopter pilot and Co-founder, President & CEO of what is now the leading website in the country for advertising long term residential rentals, it stands to reason why Dave has a place at the PMW kitchen ...

With a resume that includes West Point graduate, Captain of the West Point Team Handball team (which, interestingly, is also referred to as “Borden Ball” around the world. Google it. We’re not sure which name came first, but we’re pretty sure Dave could tell you), US Army Chinook helicopter pilot and Co-founder, President & CEO of what is now the leading website in the country for advertising long term residential rentals, it stands to reason why Dave has a place at the PMW kitchen table: his appetite for success. And, well, because he keeps us laughing.

As our resident funny-man (possibly self-proclaimed), his booming voice can be heard spreading the PMW gospel to anyone who’ll listen. And, frankly, even those who have no interest in property management. (Don’t they teach “Inside Voice” at America’s oldest military academy?)

But his high-decibel, funny ways become awfully serious when it comes to staying one step ahead for the good of our customers; because Dave has been there. As a second-generation property manager from Colorado Springs, CO, he knows the struggles that property managers go through and painstakingly dissects every step of their process to come up with ways to ease their burden.

As former CEO & President of RentClicks (which went on to become Rentals.com), he strategically positioned their business to become NARPM’s first official partner and was awarded NARPM’s National Affiliate of the Year three times.

When he’s not devouring industry information at our kitchen table, you might find him bellying up to a plate of wings while watching his beloved (understatement) Broncos, flipping channels in search of a historical documentary, searching out a tennis match or preaching the ways of the world to his pre-teen sons, Andrew and Brady.