Criminal Reports

Despite limitations in access to criminal records, and the absence of a federal depository of convictions available to those outside of law enforcement circles, criminal reports are still of value to landlords. The impact of criminal activity conducted in a property owned by an individual real estate investor, in terms of insurance premiums and legal fees, can be great. Unfortunately, most criminal records, when available to the public, are maintained at the county level of government.

Thus, a criminal report can be costly and time-consuming, requiring checking records in multiple jurisdictions. Still, if an applicant hasn't moved around a lot, a basic inquiry may suffice. Secondary sources of criminal information include online federal and state inmate locator databases (which often list not only current prisoners but those who have been released), sex offender registries, newspaper criminal records checks, and wants and warrants searches.