ATS has solid experience, longevity in a crowded field of start-ups

With the upswing in demand for background checks and the increasing need for criminal records checks and credit reports during the tenant application process, a whole new crop of tenant screening service companies has popped up in recent years. Their websites are filled with tempting promises of cheap reports in record time. But do you know anything about them? How much experience do they have? Which databases are they checking? How thorough, and really how cheap, is the service?

American Tenant Screen has been around since 1988. Long before many of today’s landlords were in the real estate business, ATS was establishing a reputation based on sound guiding principles and exceptional customer service. We pride ourselves on the thoroughness of our background checks: We pursue verifications to completion or until you tell us to stop...whichever comes first.

There are no hidden charges associated with our services; our clients always know the fees up front. And our customer service continues to be second to none. Our guarantee is that a phone will be answered by a live expert within 1 minute of your call during business hours. And we never charge for customer support.

Tenant screening may seem like a necessary formality to some, but it is a serious business. It’s your property, your reputation, and your money on the line if you select an unqualified tenant. Only trust the most experienced professionals to screen your tenants and give you the peace of mind you deserve. 

http://www.alwaysscreen.com/

New Year is a Good Time to For Routine Maintenance

Landlords, when’s the last time you called your tenants? When’s the last time you stopped by to check on the property? When’s the last time you went through their tenant file to make sure all paperwork was up to date and the lease had been properly renewed?

January is a great month to get paperwork housekeeping items out of the way and to perform some routine annual maintenance on rental properties. That might not mean a surprise inspection of the place, but a quick and cordial phone call to wish the tenants a Happy New Year and ask whether everything is going OK. Chances are there could be some minor things that need to be fixed or at least looked at. In the hustle and bustle of life, many tenants will overlook small things — a broken kitchen drawer, a cracked window, a leaky faucet — that they don’t have time to fix but don’t seem like a big enough deal to call the landlord for. But sometimes those small, seemingly inconsequential issues can turn into big problems if left unchecked.

So use the start of a new year as an excuse to get in touch with your tenants and see whether they need anything taken care of in the home. You’ll also want to find out whether they’ve made any changes to their household that aren’t reflected on the current lease. (For example, did anyone get a puppy for Christmas? Are there new family members on the way, or has an adult child come back home to live with his parents after failing out of school?) Start the new year off right with your tenants, and your property.

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http://www.alwaysscreen.com/