25th February 2009
Buy-to-let specialist Paragon Mortgages has urged property investors to carry out credit checks on prospective tenants, which can be crucial in the current economic climate.

One third of landlords do not carry out a tenant credit check and this means they are taking "unnecessary risks" as more than a quarter have had tenants leaving with rent arrears, the organisation states.

According to Paragon, it is vital for buy-to-let investors to adopt such habits due to the fact that increasing unemployment and rising costs of living are pushing many into financial difficulty.

According to the organisation's managing director John Heron, tenant assessments "should be part of a landlord's everyday business plan".
"Landlords wouldn't buy a property without making the necessary checks, so why would they let somebody rent a property without carrying out a comprehensive assessment first?" he stated.

Tenant assessments can help investors not only carry out a credit check, but also verify employment status and income and get things such as referrals from a previous landlord and even if someone is on the electoral register.



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