If you don't tenant screen then you've missed your one and only opportunity to beat a deadbeat before he becomes an ugly wart in your rental complex. And from what little I know of warts, one wart begets another... begets another, etc. You get the idea. It only takes one to bring down a complex with a heavy mortgage load, but even someone with a unit that's free and clear doesn't want to deal with the headache of unloading a deadbeat.
I had one friend who lost his entire investment in a four-unit not too long ago. He was out of town for a couple of weeks and let his brother (a nice fellow... but not experienced) handle filling the vacant unit while he was gone. Needless to say no landlord tenant credit check was done on the woman who moved in (carrying the luggage of a loser boyfriend who had gotten her pregnant).
When my friend DID get back from his trip he quickly got on the computer to do some follow up work on his new tenants and to his horror found out on her credit report background check she had been evicted from the last three places she had lived. Needless to say my friend doesn't talk to his brother anymore... and that was before the bank repo-ed the 4-unit.
No matter your situation, you can never be too careful when it comes to trusting people. Whenever you put people in a position of trust you invite risk. You do have a simple, inexpensive weapon at your disposal to prevent fraud, heartache, and loss: an individual background check.
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