For landlords and property managers of single unit dwellings and single property owner’s one bad tenant can be disastrous. A small landlord in Golden Valley, Minnesota found out just how horrific a bad tenant can be. The MacDonald’s’ family rented to a tenant that destroyed their home and became verbally threatening. The situation became so hopeless that the MacDonald’s had to flee their home and move into a hotel at which time they offered the tenant money to leave in order to avoid the eviction process. Unfortunately in most cases the eviction process takes months to complete and can cost thousands in legal fees. One way to greatly reduce experiencing what a bad tenant can do is to use a third party tenant screening company to perform a through and secure tenant check on the applicant before turning over the keys. To learn more about preventative maintenance and how a small landlord can avoid bad tenants read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: http://tenantscreeningusa.com/tenant-screening-news/tenant-screening-preventative-maintenanc
The Inconsistencies of Ban-The-Box Laws
Laws regarding ban-the-box made in 2013 have no uniformity, and new laws in the works for 2014 look to add even more confusion for US based employers. In some jurisdictions and States that have enacted ban-the-box legislation aren’t just removing the “criminal history” checkbox on job applications, they also require the employer to wait until after the first phase of the employment screening process before placing a criminal background check on the applicant. Initial phase can be unclear but typically means after a first interview has been conducted. Some States like Hawaii make employers wait until after a conditional offer of employment has been made in order to perform a criminal background check on the applicant. One thing is clear, this initiative is not going away and more ban-the-box laws are going into effect in 2014 leaving employers to scramble to make sure their 2014 employment screening policies stay or become compliant with local and State laws. Partnering with an independent third party background screening company can greatly assist employers stay compliant with laws concerning employment screening, especially ban-the-box related laws. To read more regarding the impact of ban-the-box legislation view recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2014-1-13-Background-Screening-Trends-2014.html
Accidental Landlord or Not Tenant Screening is Key
With mortgage interest rates low and resale market values struggling to keep up, many homeowners looking for a new house are opting to keep the old house as well. They are looking to rent out the old house and live in the new one. These accidental landlords need to understand the challenges of being a landlord and would be wise to partner with a third party tenant screening company to vet potential renters before signing a lease. Key components to a thorough tenant background check are credit history, criminal history, and eviction history. Companies like TenantScreeningUSA.com offer tenant background checks for under $40 even to independent landlords with only one rental unit. Tenant background screening is critical for the success of the landlord and not a good place to cut corners to save a few dollars. The price of a tenant check is negligible compared to the costs of a bad tenant.
To learn more about the accidental landlord and how a new landlord can best protect themselves and their property investment read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: http://tenantscreeningusa.com/tenant-screening-news/an-accidental-landlord-tenant-screening-is-key-to-success/
Ban-The-Box Comes to California and Other States
The ban-the-box initiative is sweeping across the country. Most recently in California the Governor signed a new law banning government employers from asking criminal history questions on their job application. However, later in the hiring process they are allowed to perform criminal background checks. Also, recently the State of Minnesota expanded their existing ban-the-box law to now cover private employers as well. This includes Minneapolis based Target Corporation who upon learning about the new law went ahead and removed criminal history questions from their job applications all across the country. In addition the State of New Jersey is now considering ban-the-box legislation but has met opposition from the State Chamber of Commerce.
The use of criminal history checks in the pre-employment screening and employment screening process is the heart of the ban-the-box initiative. The difficult aspect of this issue is that many of the States that have enacted such laws vary significantly from each other leaving no conformity. Without consistent background screening standards and lack of uniformity a great deal of confusion has arisen in the marketplace. This is most especially true for employers that operate in multiple States. This is why it is a good idea for employers and government entities to partner with a professional third party employment screening company to help stay compliant with new and existing laws. Like wild fire the ban-the-box initiative is spreading rapidly from State to State and will continue to do so in the near future. To learn more about this subject read recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2013-11-15-Ban-The-Box-Comes-to-California.html
Wisconsin Passes Bill Altering Powers of Landlord and Rights of Tenants
Legislators in Wisconsin have simplified the process of eviction and legally changed the dynamic of the renter/landlord relationship. Now according to Act 143 cities, counties, towns and villages in Wisconsin cannot block evictions. Wisconsin already has a history of providing more powers to the Landlords in ACT 108 which allows landlords to discriminate prospective tenants based on credit or criminal history. As State Laws change regarding property management, tenant screening and the eviction process it is a good idea to partner with a third party tenant screening company to help stay current and compliant with relevant tenant/landlord law. To learn more about the recent Wisconsin Legislation affecting landlords and tenants read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: http://tenantscreeningusa.com/tenant-screening-news/recent-changes-in-wisconsin-highlight-a-need-to-work-with-a-third-party-tenant-screening-company/
Background Screening for Santa?
Yep. All part-time and seasonal employees like mall Santa’s need to be vetted prior to being in contact with at risk populations like children and the elderly. Proper background screening of volunteers and part-time help should include the same background checks as full-time employees. Thorough background screening should include criminal records checks, sex offender registry searches, social security validation with address history trace and when applicable driving history record checks. Also useful in employment screening is performing employment verifications which could find previous issues associated with dealing with at risk populations. To learn more about this subject read recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2013-11-15-Will-the-Mall-Santa-Pass-His-Background-Check.html
Off-Season Rental Property Owners Beware
Sacrificing tenant checks to ensure continued income is not a good idea for off-season rentals. A Martha’s Vineyard landlord rented out her house for the winter (off season), and ended up with some bad tenants that destroyed her property and even stole her bike. The damage was so extensive that the security deposit didn’t come close to covering the costs. Off-season rentals can be a huge challenge and lures in a lot of bad tenants. The temptation to keep a property full sometimes leads to costly tenants and even expensive and time consuming evictions. If it is a must that a property be occupied year long then it is equally imperative that thorough and professional tenant checks are conducted prior to handing over the keys to your valuable property. Some landlord’s especially single unit owners sacrifice tenant checks in order to ensure continued income. As the Martha’s Vineyard woman found out, it is not worth skipping the tenant screening process to keep your rental property leased. In the end the cost of a professional tenant check is negligible compared to the cost of a bad tenant. To learn more about the challenges of off-seasonal rentals read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: http://tenantscreeningusa.com/tenant-screening-news/off-season-rental-properties-dont-sacrifice-tenant-checks-to-ensure-continued-income/
Background Screening Reports for Risk Mitigation
There are several background record reports that should be included in most employment screening policies. Companies and organizations looking to make new hires should perform background checks on them that include a criminal history check, social security number trace, sex offender registry check and in some cases a motor vehicle record check and consumer credit report check. Put simply the purpose of proper background screening is risk mitigation. Even with new laws and regulations emerging in the employment screening arena, incorporating professional background reports in the employment screening process protect the company/organization, its already existing employees and those who the new employee would come in contact with while working. The key in the current employment screening atmosphere is to use a professional third party background screening company that can provide legal background reports and help with compliance issues during the constantly evolving laws, rules and guidelines associated with the background screening industry. To learn more about this subject read recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2013-10-3-Background-Screening-and-Risk-Mitigation.html
Evictions are Never Fun
Renting to family members may not be a good idea as an elderly couple found out when they had to force an eviction. The eviction process is never fun especially when it is your own family members you have to kick out. For any landlord or property manager the eviction process is usually expensive and puts a drain on a property in regards to financial loss, property damage and reputation damage. It is important that both landlord and renter understand local, state and federal laws concerning the eviction process prior to signing a lease. No matter the circumstance the eviction process is never easy for the landlord or tenant. This is why it is especially important for a landlord or property manager to use a professional third party tenant screening company to run tenant checks prior to leasing. Thorough and accurate tenant checks can significantly reduce evictions for a given property. To learn more about the challenges surrounding evictions read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: http://tenantscreeningusa.com/uncategorized/evictions-are-not-fun-tenantscreeningusa-com-highly-recommends-landlords-and-tenants-understand-the-potential-for-eviction-from-a-variety-of-reasons/
University now asking Criminal History and Sex Offender Questions
Institutions of higher learning have been adding questions about criminal history and sex offender status as part of their student application process. The University of Washington is one such college that recently added such questions to their student application process. The University’s questions are very specific: “Have you ever been convicted of a violent felony offense, are such charges currently pending against you and have you been required to register as a sex offender in the USA or abroad?” Changes to the University’s student application process were prompted due to the discovery of two Level Three sex offenders that were enrolled in 2012. With background screening laws changing and being disputed, and the background screening requirements not being standardized and the proper use of criminal history records varying from industry to industry it is a good time for organizations including colleges and universities to partner with a professional third party background screening company. Such a partnership should help Universities stay compliant with current law regarding the background screening industry while giving them access to the most current and accurate background records available. To learn more about this subject read recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2013-9-10-College-Applications-Include-Criminal-History-and-Sex-Offender-Questions.html