Twoevictions the application never showed
What does tenant screening catch that an application does not?
Intent, mostly. An application shows income, addresses and credit history. It does not show who is actually going to live in the house. We recently had a file that looked fine, but over a few phone calls it became clear the applicant was never going to live there. They were applying on behalf of someone else, and that person had two evictions in the last couple of years. Nothing in the paperwork said so. Asking did.
That is why our screening is six checks and a conversation, not a credit pull. A placement that goes wrong costs an owner $3,500 to $20,000 or more once you add up lost rent, legal fees and damage, which is why about 32% of applicants do not make it through.
