Background checks

How much faith do you put into what the internet says about a person?

I am a landlord and sometimes I google a person. A few times I have even paid for the 'background' details of people.

I have done these searches on myself, even if you get a list of the past five places where I have owned a house. I am not convinced that presents much of a painting of who I am. Or for that matter, why would anyone care what states a person has lived in before?

I know landlords who swear by a persons credit rating. But to me, there is a huge difference between your bill paying history and whether you will treat my apartment well. So it all falls to your gut feeling about a person when you meet them.

I was recently showing a commercial space to a few potential tenants. One was an attractive licensed massage therapist, I have some torn tendons in my shoulder and all I could think of was how nice it would be for that woman to work on my shoulder. Another potential tenant was a tattoo artist with huge gauges in his ears and ink all over his neck. I have a little ink, but I am not in the market for any more ink. Both of these people have run their own businesses for over 10 years, and both have outstanding credit.

My personal bias clouded my mind I wanted to rent to the massage therapist, but she got cold feet and chickened out. The tattoo artist did a second showing with his parents, and he paid and signed a lease.

On this forum we discuss a profession where the workers want to screen their customers, and that all makes total sense.

So what can you really learn about a person online? What really helps to determine the character of a person?

Is the credit rating really the gold standard?

How about arrest records? I have had a couple of arrests and two convictions in my past, but none of them show up on a Law Enforcement Background check. So I know that it is a flawed system.

I see public debate going on now about 'red flag' laws. The idea is that if anyone is thought to be mentally unstable they should have their firearms taken. I have cancer, my cancer treatment caused me to be very depressed [it is a common side effect of this treatment] so I am now on antidepressants. Should antidepressants cause me to lose my firearms? Should that go onto LE Background checks so anyone doing a Background check on me would know that I might be 'unstable' or suicidal?

The better question is would an escort care what my credit score is? Why?

Would an escort care about my arrests and convictions?

Would they care if a person was on antidepressants?

See as a landlord, I am not convinced that any of these things honestly make any difference. So it all comes down to my gut feeling when I meet you.

Your last paragraph I can totally agree with!

Sometimes certain industries use statistical information when making decisions. For example, in the insurance industry some companies will not offer a home owners policy to anyone who has had a bankruptcy, repossession, or foreclosure during the past 5 years. They do this because analytical data indicates that these people file insurance claims more often than those who don't. Now whether this process is "right or fair" is the subject of debate.


I don't know how many of you took a statistics class in school, but sometimes people can present certain stats in ways that misrepresents general accuracy. For instance, as a cause of death you are more likely to drown than be attacked by a shark while swimming in the ocean. However, if I wanted to scare people away from the beach I could just cite that there were 5 shark attacks in a 12 day period in New Jersey. You know what? That's factually accurate, but what I failed to mention was that this phenomena took place in 1916, over a hundred years ago, and hasn't taken place since. So is this the average or norm? No.


As your question pertains to this industry, I think it's pretty obvious that no provider wants to risk seeing a man who has a history of robbing or assaulting women. If someone has done something like that in the past, whether you would be able to uncover it depends on the source you are checking. Some databases contain more extensive and accurate info than others. Often times online searches contain inaccurate info due to various reasons, not the least of which are scorned former colleagues or lovers. Addresses change all the time, but dates of birth and cities of birth do not. Also, it's not common for legal names to change for reasons other than marriage.


Unfortunately, we live in a country with a thoroughly fixed system that often times doesn't care or want to hear explanations. I can cook up an example. Let's say you don't have health insurance because your employer slashed your hours from full time to part time. Then suppose you are out hiking in the mountains and break your hip from taking a fall. After the helicopter evacuation and hip surgery, you now have an emergency room bill over $250,000. You don't have the money to pay it so you file for bankruptcy.


Now that the bankruptcy is on your record, the lender, employer, or whoever is doing the inquiry doesn't want to hear your explanation that you were just out talking a walk in the forest for some exercise and stress relief to get closer to nature, and the only reason you wound up in bankruptcy was due to a freak accident. They just see it as a sign of financial irresponsibility regardless. Often times that's just the kind of country we live in, and it truly is not fair. It's a classic case of "a few bad people ruining it for everyone else."


I don't know how widely background requirements vary from provider to provider, but I would imagine that some may be more willing to work with potential clients about possible discrepancies than others. As for myself, at this point in my life there are certain things I can tell about people depending on how much time I've spent around them. For a provider I've never met before, the amount information I can glean on "gut instinct" is not endless, but it's better than nothing.

As a fellow landlord I would agree. Your on the commercial side and I have residential rentals. I had great looking tenants on paper who treated the place horrible. My worst tenant never cleaned the place in the three years he was a tenant. Parking his motorcycle in the living room which leaked oil, I would always have to chase him for rent, dog peed every where, painted the walls chocolate brown, and drove threw the garage door with his truck. Yet made 5X the rent, and had a credit score of 800. Turns out his mom and dad would pay all his bills except for his rent, which they left to him.

The best tenant I had had a 570 credit score, was short on the income to rent ratio and stayed seven years. When the tenant vacated the unit the place was immaculate.

My trick is I like to look at their car. I do not care if a 1980 Citation, but how does it look? Does the floorboards have fast food wrappers? Is there tobacco stains on the seat? Has the dash been dusted in the past four years? The way they treat their car is likely the same way the will treat your property.

...
As your question pertains to this industry, I think it's pretty obvious that no provider wants to risk seeing a man who has a history of robbing or assaulting women. If someone has done something like that in the past, whether you would be able to uncover it depends on the source you are checking. Some databases contain more extensive and accurate info than others. Often times online searches contain inaccurate info due to various reasons, not the least of which are scorned former colleagues or lovers. Addresses change all the time, but dates of birth and cities of birth do not. Also, it's not common for legal names to change for reasons other than marriage. Originally Posted by Pangolier

So if we were to design a 'better' system for the protection of the ladies, what statistical risks SHOULD we screen for?

As a fellow landlord I would agree. Your on the commercial side and I have residential rentals. I had great looking tenants on paper who treated the place horrible. My worst tenant .... Originally Posted by Fizley

During my Active Duty career, we had an apartment complex at each duty station.

We have done really well renting to Asian immigrants.

The 'worst' tenants? oh my. That would require a long post and I am already my first drink of the evening into a jug of whiskey I distilled a few days ago. A long incoherent drunken ramble is not my best face. I will just say that I have had bad tenants.

So if we were to design a 'better' system for the protection of the ladies, what statistical risks SHOULD we screen for? Originally Posted by RetiredSubmariner

I wish I had a good answer to that question, but I don't believe that I do. So far as I'm aware most girls already wish to know if guys have a history of cancellations or poor hygiene, etc... I'm not sure to what extent "other attributes" would be good factors in women looking for potential mates. I honestly don't think most providers look that deeply. I've never heard of a provider wishing to know a man's credit score or the like.

Providers are always looking for either a safe incall or a place to live and work. That's what I did. I loved not having to dress conservatively to make the trip, pack a bag to change when I got there and then I'd need to take a quick shower after a got there. I showered before I left but I'm OCD that I have to JUST be out of the bath or shower before I get dressed in play clothes. And also I don't drive, LOL! Very much a homebody.

I sublet from a nice man who owned 20 properties and leased to providers.
Safe, gated, very nice clean complex in a very good location. With NO funny business from the landlord, but he was nice looking! I was there for 5 years before I left on good terms and moved in with my SO last September.

Most providers wouldn't pass a standard background check, so he doesn't run one. Just fills out a simple lease he downloaded off the internet, and puts your DL and real life name, you both sign it and he gives you a copy.
Always uses the girls provider name. Once a month he drives around N Dallas and collects the rent in cash. He's had a few problems with some girls, mainly ones that have a boyfriend move in at some point, or ones that trash the place. But over 95% of his tenants are very reliable, clean, stable, pay rent on time and don't have 15 clients coming and going at all hours of the day and know how to dress when leaving the apartment.

So consider renting to an established well reviewed provider. Just start a thread in CoEd describing the place and how much rent you need. Year lease, security deposit and first month up front before they move in. And since you're a member you can keep an eye on them online.

But of course it has to be a provider with an excellent reputation on this board and wherever else she advertisers Someone who screens extremely well and has standards not to see thugs, 18 year olds, unsavory client, etc. Someone who has been doing this a while and stays out of trouble.

A good provider can earn the rent in 2 days, depending on what her donations are and how many clients she sees in a day. At 3 clients a day for 300/hr, 380/90 mins, 450/2 hrs, (and yes, multi hour appointments are common for a seasoned excellent provider), she could even make the rent in one day. And the next day, she makes enough to pay all of her utilities. I used to pay 3 mths rent at a time, OVER pay the utilities each month, and it was great for peace of mind for the slow times. The rest of the month is gravy. Saaving for a house, going to school, relaxing and cleaning her incall spotless and restocking the bar and condom supplies, lingerie and makeup. Getting hair and make up done. I only really wanted to work 3-4 days a week, but if a favorite regular texts, those guys always get to book. What I'm saying is, a good provider is a better tenant than someone living pay check to pay check and running ragged with jobs and kids. A provider has to keep her place totally clean and beautiful because of her guests, it has to look inviting.

And I'm sure my landlord did a background check, since I put my real name, DL and SS# on the least. He just doesn't care what it says as long as you are not BSC, run out on leases without paying, or murdered someone.

And if all you have now is a commercial space, that's great too. Many girls just want an incall in a business type sitting. They can keep their hobby clothes and makeup there and they feel safer that clients don't know their address. And so much cheaper than having to rent hotels.

But you CAN learn a LOT in a thorough background check. My SO has rental homes and I can't remember the name, and you need the DOB, SS, and DL. It tells EVERYTHING, costs 35 dollars per check but worth it. The cheaper sites like People Search, Spokeo and Intellius are ok too, just not as much info. The 35 $ one gives employment, and all criminal background and phone numbers and email.

But think of the providers you guys with renters! They're good clean tenants. Just place a thread in CoEd and you'll get TONS of responses!

And many providers do FBSM, some even ONLY massage and body rubs. You'd like that better than a legit one!

I was searching online today on Spokeo, and Intellius for an ex and some friends. Most info was correct but not all. They didn't offer credit rating but estimated income and showed pics of their current house on Google Maps, estimated income, relatives, phone numbers and emails, and you can do a reverse phone lookup. You can unlock the personal for an additional price. Marriages/divorces. Same with criminal history.
My Life is a good one too, LOTS of info. I THINK the one my SO uses is something called City Life. It's pretty much just for landlords.

Providers are always looking for either a safe incall or a place to live and work. That's what I did. I loved not having to dress conservatively to make the trip, pack a bag to change when I got there and then I'd need to take a quick shower after a got there. I showered before I left but I'm OCD that I have to JUST be out of the bath or shower before I get dressed in play clothes. And also I don't drive, LOL! Very much a homebody.

I sublet from a nice man who owned 20 properties and leased to providers.
Safe, gated, very nice clean complex in a very good location. With NO funny business from the landlord, but he was nice looking! I was there for 5 years before I left on good terms and moved in with my SO last September.

Most providers wouldn't pass a standard background check, so he doesn't run one. Just fills out a simple lease he downloaded off the internet, and puts your DL and real life name, you both sign it and he gives you a copy.
Always uses the girls provider name. Once a month he drives around N Dallas and collects the rent in cash. He's had a few problems with some girls, mainly ones that have a boyfriend move in at some point, or ones that trash the place. But over 95% of his tenants are very reliable, clean, stable, pay rent on time and don't have 15 clients coming and going at all hours of the day and know how to dress when leaving the apartment.

So consider renting to an established well reviewed provider. Just start a thread in CoEd describing the place and how much rent you need. Year lease, security deposit and first month up front before they move in. And since you're a member you can keep an eye on them online.

But of course it has to be a provider with an excellent reputation on this board and wherever else she advertisers Someone who screens extremely well and has standards not to see thugs, 18 year olds, unsavory client, etc. Someone who has been doing this a while and stays out of trouble.

A good provider can earn the rent in 2 days, depending on what her donations are and how many clients she sees in a day. At 3 clients a day for 300/hr, 380/90 mins, 450/2 hrs, (and yes, multi hour appointments are common for a seasoned excellent provider), she could even make the rent in one day. And the next day, she makes enough to pay all of her utilities. I used to pay 3 mths rent at a time, OVER pay the utilities each month, and it was great for peace of mind for the slow times. The rest of the month is gravy. Saaving for a house, going to school, relaxing and cleaning her incall spotless and restocking the bar and condom supplies, lingerie and makeup. Getting hair and make up done. I only really wanted to work 3-4 days a week, but if a favorite regular texts, those guys always get to book. What I'm saying is, a good provider is a better tenant than someone living pay check to pay check and running ragged with jobs and kids. A provider has to keep her place totally clean and beautiful because of her guests, it has to look inviting.

And I'm sure my landlord did a background check, since I put my real name, DL and SS# on the least. He just doesn't care what it says as long as you are not BSC, run out on leases without paying, or murdered someone.

And if all you have now is a commercial space, that's great too. Many girls just want an incall in a business type sitting. They can keep their hobby clothes and makeup there and they feel safer that clients don't know their address. And so much cheaper than having to rent hotels.

But you CAN learn a LOT in a thorough background check. My SO has rental homes and I can't remember the name, and you need the DOB, SS, and DL. It tells EVERYTHING, costs 35 dollars per check but worth it. The cheaper sites like People Search, Spokeo and Intellius are ok too, just not as much info. The 35 $ one gives employment, and all criminal background and phone numbers and email.

But think of the providers you guys with renters! They're good clean tenants. Just place a thread in CoEd and you'll get TONS of responses! Originally Posted by GingerKatt

A lot to digress there, thank you.

@GingerKatt, I have rented to providers before and am willing to again. In both cases, they both paid their rent on time. Three concerns:

I have no problems if she sees trusted clients out of the place, but don't want a string of guys lined up. This will prompt calls to county code enforcement from other residents, which I will have to deal with.

The other concern, is one of the providers wanted to exchange service for a lower rent. I wanted the rent to match the rental agreements so if I ever got audited by a taxing authority there would be no gaps.

Lastly, by knowingly renting to a provider how would that lookif something we're to go bad and I ended up in court, via a neighbor or the provider I rented to?

These are things to think about.

I certainly agree with you on the cash flow providers have and have had good experiences in the past. I certainly would consider renting to providers again, just pointing out the other items to consider.

See as a landlord, I am not convinced that any of these things honestly make any difference. So it all comes down to my gut feeling when I meet you. Originally Posted by RetiredSubmariner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9sbyLuYqGQ

I thought this lady has a reasonable attitude.

Personally I screen for things such as violent legal issues, restraining orders etc. If you went bat shit crazy on a lady what will stop you from hurting me. Credit.. who cares. My credit blows but talk to my landlord who will tell you I've been a model tennant for the past few yrs. Look @ my car pymt history where all my pymts are made early etc etc just as mentioned above 1 hospital bill and I do have an eviction luckily my landlord was willing to listen to me and give me a chance. Screening is important but at the end of the day as the OP said gut feeling tells a whole lot more.

I rarely, if ever, post in these discussions, but this is near, and dear.
Credit scores and background checks are slowly becoming a thing of the past. As someone who owns commercial and residential property, and land, the thing to remember is that the standards for felonies has dropped so low over the years, that in many instances, a bad check makes you a felon. I also know many successful business people who have a past littered with failures.
These days, when I rent, lease, or owner finance, I go by my gut, and the information I gather myself. Background checks are not worth the money paid.
I have a residential tenant, started a business in the garage. Nefarious past, but on the right track now, and will get a commercial space in the next few months when available.
While some background info such as credit reports, or criminal background checks might be mildly useful, it’s a very different world we live in.
I have more faith these days in a guy that tells me “hey, look, I sold drugs to take care of my family”. If the current evidence supports that, I’m good.
I have lost more money to businesses and individuals with better outward “appearances”.
I have seen them run up massive debt, then simply declare bankruptcy and tell you tough shit.
It’s a fluid society these days. YOU have to be the ultimate judge.
As for providers doing things for their “security”, I’m not against it, but you can bet your bottom dollar I will want the same exact credentials.