IMPORTANT WEBSITES TO ASSIST WITH SCREENING TENANTS
As I have mentioned before, the screening process is in my opinion the single most important aspect of the rental process. Sufficient time should be spent by the landlord to attempt to ensure that the chosen tenant will be able to live up to and abide by the rental agreement.
Below are some websites that I find very helpful during the screening of my tenants.
CCAP - Wisconsin's Consolidated Court Automation Program - This is a free tool that allows you to access to all state court filings within Wisconsin with the exception of paternity lawsuits and juvenile delinquency petitions. It includes criminal lawsuits, civil lawsuits including eviction actions, divorces, harassment injunctions, replevins (repossession of vehicles), foreclosures, money judgments etc.
Milwaukee Municipal Court Case Information System (MMCCIS) - This is a free website that allows you to enter a persons name and determine if they have received any municipal tickets in the city of Milwaukee for such things as possessions of drugs, possession of drug paraphenelia, battery, traffic violations etc. It should be noted that receiving a municipal ticket is not the same as being charged with a crime. Municipal tickets are just civil forfeitures (fines).
Family Watchdog - This is a free website that allows you to search for convicted sex offenders thoughout the United States by name or location.
Wisconsin's Sex Offender Registry - Run by Wisconsin's Department of Corrections this free website allows you to search by name or location to determine whether or not a person has been convicted as a sex offender within the state.
PACER - Bankruptcy filings in Eastern District of Wisconsin - This website allows you to search (for a nominal cost) to determine if a person has ever filed a bankruptcy in the Eastern District (includes Milwaukee) of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions - This free website proves helpful for commercial landlords who want to check the status of a prospective status of a tenant that is a business entity (LLC, SC, INC, LP etc). It allows you to search its database and willlet you know if such an entity exists and who its registered agent is and his/her address, and whether or not the business entity is delinquent in its filing with the state.
Landlord Services, LLC - This company based in Green Bay is endorsed by the Apartment Association of Wisconsin (AASEW) and will run credit checks on your rental applicants as well as criminal background checks etc.
City of Milwaukee Property Recording Data and Department of Neighborhood Services Property Recording - Both of this sites will allow you to enter an address and find out who owns the property. This is an especially useful tool when screening applicants and you want to verify that their prior landlord is really their prior landlord - and not a family member or friend who will tell you what a great tenant they are.
SSN Validator: This site will allow you to enter a social security number and it will provide you basic information such as if the SSN was issued, approximate date that it was issued, state where it was issued, and if the person that it was issued to is deceased. This information will allow you to better determine if the SSN that an applicant lists on your rental application is legitimate. Use of this site is free.
