A renters income will give you the renter’s ability to pay rent. Their credit score will give you the renters desire to pay rent. Both are required.
A tenant with both a decent credit score and income will generally not be a criminal, nor will they have been evicted. You care about income and getting paid. The neighbors care about the tenants criminal record. Eviction history will take care of itself, a solid renter will not have one.
Most evictions are the landlord’s fault, not the tenants fault. A bank makes sure you can pay our mortgage before they grant you one. Many landlords do not. Most landlords take the tenants word for it that they can pay. Do not set your tenants up for failure, politely reject them, and move on to a better tenant. You will be more successful in the long run. It is not the highest rent that makes the most money. What makes the most money is rent on-time, collected and deposited in time to make your own lifestyle work. Do not always look for the highest money, look for the best money.
Is is now 3/2/2014. If you are a landlord, do you know where your rents are? If not, you should be evaluating your tenants and determining which one needs to be replaced with a tenant that pays rent. Time your vacancy so you are in control, do not let your tenants force you into a vacancy when you are not ready.
If all your tenants are weak, and they all break in the same month, are you prepared? If not, get prepared.
If you are a tenant, what do places you have lived at screened for? If you are a landlord, what is your screening strategy? If you are an aspiring landlord, have you thought about this?