Atlanta Rental Property- Tips on How to Screen Your Tenant From Property Management Pros

Okay, so you made an effort to get your Atlanta rental property into good shape and placed the listing on the market. Great, now it is just a matter of accepting applications. If only it were that easy to ensure placing a good tenant.

The stats show that 1 in 8 applicants commit application fraud. That is 12% of your applicant pool. Much of the fraud concerns the applicant’s ability to pay rent. With the ease of editing and manipulating documents with most home computers and the countless websites offering fake documents for a cheap price, the screening process has taken on a new intense level of scrutiny.

“With the ease of editing and manipulating documents with most home computers and the countless websites offering fake documents for a cheap price, the screening process has taken on a new intense level of scrutiny.”

Having a vacant Atlanta rental property can be stressful, but placing the wrong person on your property could cause thousands of dollars in eviction fees and much more stress. Atlanta Property Management Solutions managers are aware of the techniques used by scammers trying to falsify documents to get approval to rent your property.

Here are just a few tips from property professionals with over 20 years of experience to help you from being a victim of a bad tenant.

Tip # 1: How to Spot Fake Pay Stubs

Many times, fake pay stubs will have numbers and letters swapped out. An example is the letter “O” used in place of the number zero. The difference may be subtle, but account firms or payroll software will not make this mistake. Take a very close look at formatting, numbers, and letters.

Tip #2: All Information Should be Consistent

All details on the pay stub should be consistent with the information and documents provided. Check all the math for errors. There should be no math errors. The address for the business and the tenant should be accurate.

Tip #3: Numbers that Do Not Make Sense

A paystub rarely ends up with round numbers. Most paystubs will end up with a number like $3496.76 and not a round number due to taxes and other withholdings being taken out.

If you are still concerned about income verification, you may request additional documents, such as tax forms and bank statements. However, these documents are a little more challenging to alter or fake.

Landlords have a lot of responsibilities. So let the Atlanta rental property management experts at Atlanta Property Management Solutions take the stress out of owning a rental property and prevent costly mistakes. We provide comprehensive property management, including tenant screening and background checks.

Melanie Van De Grift is the Broker and Owner of Atlanta Property Management Solutions. She has 20 years of experience in property management in the Atlanta market. Email her directly with questions or to learn more about how Atlanta Property Management Solutions can help you rent and manage your property.