At Real Property Management Service, we understand how important it is for property owners to trust the tenants living in their properties. Our rigorous tenant screening process is designed to identify trustworthy tenants and minimize risk, ensuring your investment is protected. Here's a step-by-step overview of our process, as explained by our leasing experts, Alex Gumucio and Miguel Orefice.

1. Thorough Application Review

The foundation of a successful tenancy begins with a thorough application review. At Real Property Management Service, we take great care in assessing each applicant’s background, ensuring that we only select tenants who meet our high standards. This comprehensive process is designed to minimize risk and safeguard your investment. Here's a detailed breakdown of how we conduct this critical step.

Employment Verification

One of the most important aspects of tenant screening is verifying the applicant’s employment. Stable, reliable employment is a key indicator of a tenant’s ability to consistently meet their rent obligations. We go beyond simply accepting what’s listed on the application by taking the following steps:

• Contacting Employers: We directly reach out to the employer listed on the application to confirm the applicant's current job position, length of employment, and monthly income. This ensures that the applicant is financially capable of paying the rent.
• Verification of Income: We require tenants to provide proof of income, which typically includes recent pay stubs, employment letters, or bank statements showing regular deposits. For salaried workers, we check if their income is stable, while for freelancers or independent contractors, we evaluate bank statements or tax returns to ensure that their income is consistent.
• Employment Stability: Beyond verifying current income, we also assess the applicant's employment stability. A long tenure at a company indicates job security and financial reliability, which reduces the likelihood of rental defaults. If the tenant has recently switched jobs, we look for patterns in their employment history to ensure consistency.
• Red Flags: Any discrepancies in the information provided, such as job titles that don’t match the company’s public records or inconsistent salary information, are further investigated. For example, if an applicant lists themselves as a “manager” but their employer confirms a lower-level role, we will inquire further to clarify the issue.

Landlord References

Equally important is verifying the applicant’s rental history by contacting their previous landlords. A tenant's past behavior is often a good predictor of how they will treat future rental agreements. Here's how we approach landlord references:

• Current and Previous Landlords: We ask tenants for the contact information of both their current and previous landlords (if they’ve moved within the last 12 months). Speaking with more than one landlord helps us identify patterns of behavior. For example, a current landlord might provide a good reference to get rid of a troublesome tenant, whereas a former landlord could offer more candid feedback.
• Key Questions: When speaking with landlords, we ask a set of tailored questions to assess the applicant’s reliability. These questions typically include:
  • Did the tenant pay rent on time?
  • How did they maintain the property?
  • Were there any disputes or complaints?
  • Would they rent to this tenant again?
• Cross-Referencing Information: We compare the answers provided by the landlord with the information listed on the application. If there are any discrepancies—such as an applicant listing one landlord, but our research reveals another—it raises a red flag that requires further investigation.
• Avoiding Fake Landlords: Unfortunately, some applicants provide false landlord references, such as friends or family members pretending to be former landlords. To avoid this, we verify the landlord’s identity by checking property ownership records or cross-referencing contact information with publicly available sources.

Proof of Income

A critical part of the application review is ensuring the tenant has the financial means to pay rent consistently. We request detailed income documentation to make sure the applicant meets the financial requirements of the property:

• Pay Stubs or Bank Statements: Applicants are asked to provide their most recent pay stubs, typically from the past three months, as proof of income. For freelancers or those without traditional employment, we request bank statements showing regular deposits to verify their income stream.
• Tax Documents: In some cases, especially for self-employed applicants or those with fluctuating income, we ask for tax returns to get a clearer picture of their financial stability. This allows us to evaluate their financial behavior over a longer period, ensuring they can manage their rent payments even with variable income.
• Guarantor Requirements: If a tenant does not meet the income threshold required for the property, we may request a guarantor. The guarantor must also go through a screening process to ensure they have sufficient financial resources to cover rent in the event that the primary tenant cannot. This provides an extra layer of security for property owners.

2. Document Verification

We ask tenants to submit supporting documents, such as a government-issued ID and proof of income. If the tenant is a student or does not meet income requirements, we request a guarantor to co-sign the lease. This helps ensure that there is an additional layer of financial security. Here’s how we proceed:

• Government-Issued Identification: We require each applicant to provide at least one form of government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license, passport, or state/provincial identification card. These documents are used to verify their full legal name, date of birth, and address, ensuring that the individual is legitimate. We also check that the identification is current and not expired.
• Cross-Referencing Public Records: We don’t stop at just looking at the ID. We cross-reference the details provided with public records and databases to ensure consistency. For example, we check property ownership records and online data to confirm that the applicant’s address matches their history, helping us identify fraudulent applicants who may be using false identities.

3. Fraud Detection and Red Flags

Fraudulent applications are unfortunately common in the rental industry, and we have procedures in place to detect red flags:

Inconsistent Information: We flag applications where the tenant’s submitted information, such as employment details or landlord references, does not match our verbal verifications.

Suspicious Documents: Pay stubs and other documentation are carefully reviewed. For instance, if a tenant provides pay stubs with an address that doesn’t match the employer’s location, or if the details don’t match when cross-referenced with external databases, we investigate further.

Alex shared an example on how he received an application from a prospective tenant who submitted all the necessary documentation, including proof of income in the form of pay stubs. Initially, everything appeared to be in order— the applicant’s income met the minimum rental requirements, and the employment information seemed legitimate. However, Alex, following our company's standard procedure of scrutinizing every detail, noticed a small discrepancy: the employer’s address listed on the pay stubs didn’t align with the information provided in the tenant's application.

The applicant had stated that they were employed at a company in Texas, where they supposedly held a steady job. Yet, a closer inspection of the pay stub raised a red flag. The employer’s address on the document pointed to a location in Georgia—hundreds of miles away from where the applicant claimed to work.

Rather than dismissing the discrepancy as a clerical error, Alex initiated a reverse lookup on the employer’s information. This investigative step is something we incorporate as part of our best practices to verify the authenticity of documentation submitted during the screening process. The reverse lookup revealed that the address listed on the pay stub was indeed registered to a business, but it was located in Georgia, not Texas. The applicant had claimed to work on-site in Texas, raising concerns about the validity of the employment.

At this point, it became clear that further investigation was necessary. Alex cross-referenced the business name and contact information with various employment databases and online records. After making calls to the business listed in Georgia and checking employment history databases, Alex discovered that the employer had no record of the individual in question working for their company—whether in Georgia or Texas.

What This Example Shows About Our Process

This case exemplifies the importance of our comprehensive document verification procedure. Our screening process doesn’t stop at simply checking that paperwork is submitted—it goes deeper, validating each piece of information provided to ensure it's accurate and consistent.

The reverse lookup and verification steps Alex took showcase our commitment to due diligence and highlight how Real Property Management Service goes above and beyond to prevent fraudulent applications. By carefully verifying every document, from pay stubs to employment details, we significantly reduce the risk of placing an unreliable tenant in your property.

Through stories like Alex’s, it’s clear that our document verification process isn't just about ticking boxes—it’s about safeguarding property owners from the risks that come with leasing, ensuring only qualified and honest tenants are approved.

At Real Property Management Service, we believe that careful tenant screening is crucial to maintaining the integrity of your property. Our multi-step approach, from verifying employment and landlord references to detecting fraudulent documents, ensures that only reliable tenants are approved. With us, your property is always in safe hands.