Over the past few years people took advantage of the recent economic downturn and subsequent lower housing prices to buy a second home. As rents increased and home ownership costs decreased many took the opportunity of buying a second house to rent out. Although this sounds like a profitable endeavor it is not always easy to become a first time landlord. Often first time landlords renting out their property for short term rentals like vacation rentals overlook the need to perform a thorough tenant background check. With the exception of duration the tenant screening process should be the same for both short term and long term rentals. A thorough tenant check should include a criminal background check and national sex offender registry search in addition to a credit report and credit score. Failure to perform a thorough tenant check on an applicant for a short term rental could end up costing the new landlord more than the rent amount and end up becoming a money pit instead of a profitable rental situation. Property damage and reputation damage can turn a successful rental operation into a disaster. Cutting corners in the rental screening process is never worth it, tenant checks are not very expensive and can help the first time landlord make the best decisions in regards to who they rent to short term or long term. To learn more about the pitfalls of being a first time landlord and why a through tenant check is important even for short term rentals read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: http://tenantscreeningusa.com/tenant-screening-news/summer-rental-landlords-must-conduct-a-tenant-check-on-short-term-renters/