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I do very little in the way of background checks.
I first screen with a basic application, email communications, telephone calls and google searches.
If it gets past that, I meet with them.
I look for several things, but one of the most impt is how aggressive their personality is. I look to see what kind of defendant they will be in an unlawful detainer action. Will they just move out if they can't pay the rent? Or will they fight, hire some public advocacy group to make crazy claims, etc.
The only time I've had issues, it's actually not been with the tenant, but with people that have moved in (unauthorized) with the tenant. That's hard to guard against. The person on the application may be perfect, on paper and in person. But when 6 months later a boyfriend and other loud, jobless deadbeats move in with her, there's a problem.
I've had my best luck by paying generous referral fees to existing long term tenants to get their friends, co-workers, etc. to fill vacancies. That's always been a slam dunk.
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