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How to Choose Good Landlord Credit Check Services for Your Tenant Credit Checks

No two tenant credit checks are exactly the same so it's important that you have the best landlord credit check services doing the job for you. Save both time and money on your tenant credit check with our tried and tested tips for choosing the best tenant screening sites.

Any landlord credit check service that is worth your money should make tenant screening a breeze for you. This means quick sign ups, friendly customer support and credit reports that are both helpful and easy to understand. In Part 2 of this guide, we will reveal the few tenant screening sites that actually meets our strict requirements.

Read on to uncover the signs of a first rate tenant screening company below:

1. Good Value for Your Money and Zero Hidden Charges

No matter what you are buying, the price will always be an important factor. A basic credit report should cost between $15 to $20 while a full fledged tenant credit check (which often includes an identity check, criminal records and rental history) should go for between $30 to $40.

If someone demands more than the prices above, there's a good chance that you are overpaying unless they include some unique extra service (which is unlikely). And if a site is charging a lot less than the standard prices, beware of any hidden costs or incomplete credit reports (since they will have to pay credit bureaus for the reports in the first place).

On top of that, you should only be paying for your tenant reports and all other charges should be optional.

This means free member registration, zero set up costs and no monthly fees. Some landlord credit check services do offer paid monthly/commercial memberships in exchange for cheaper credit checks but this should be purely optional.

2. Quick and Easy Access to Your Tenant Credit Checks

Remember that tenant credit checks by good tenant sceening websites are supposed to help you save time so you should avoid any company that makes it look like rocket science.

While we accept that it's necessary for you to register as a member and confirm your status as a landlord or property manager (required by law for obtaining someone's credit report), the process should be quick and painless.

They should be able to accept documents from you by fax or email and not just by snail mail. Once your documents are received, they should not take more than 2 working days to approve your membership.

The same goes for the delivery time of your tenant reports. Once you have ordered your reports, they should arrive by email or online by the same day. Personally I prefer to order my credit reports from companies that deliver within 2 hours.

3. Proven Track Record with Excellent Customer Support

While you won't have to look far to find landlord credit check services, the key here is to find a well established one with a first class customer service.

This means that the company should be in the tenant screening business for at least 3 years and certified by the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act). Even better, the company should be BBB (Better Business Bureau) Accredited with a minimum rating of B-

Ideally you should go for a company that specialises in tenant credit checks instead of a general site that handles all types of credit reports (for mortgage lenders, employers or debtors).

There are 2 good reasons for doing so. Firstly the information provided with your tenant credit checks will be more helpful since the details will be specifically geared towards landlords. We also find that the customer support for these specialised sites also tend to be more knowledgeable especially when it comes to answering difficult questions.

Is there any tenant screening company that actually meets all the requirements above? Uncover the most popular and highly recommended ones right now:



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