Stockton Property Management: Using Social Media to Screen Tenants

One of the most important things that landlords who manage properties in Stocktonneed to do is screen their tenants. Background checks, credit checks, and income verification are all important tools that landlords involved in Stockton property management have used and will continue to use. In recent years,however, the explosion of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn has publicized a lot of personal information that used to be private. Employers have searching social mediato evaluate job applicants for a few years now, and more landlords are starting to do this for their potential tenants. Is using social media to screen tenants a good idea?

Proponents of using social media say that you can find out relevant information about the applicant's character, such as his or her propensity to party, demeanor with others, andemployment status.

There are two huge problems with using social media to screen tenants. First, a lot of information on social media sites is inaccurate. People may make things up, or they may not update their profiles very often. Second, you may learn things that you are not allowed to rely upon when making a decision regarding tenancy, such as the applicant's religion, marital status, or handicap. If the applicant finds out that you were looking at his social media, there is no way you can prove that you did not rely upon this information in denying the applicant.

If you still want to use social media to screen tenants, you should hire a third party to look for you. The third party will look at the social media and give you only information that is legally relevant.

If tenant screening seems like a potential minefield to you, don't worry. Property management in Stockton can take care of your tenant screening needs.