Husband and I are seeking a rental home. We found a nice house and the landlord has invited us to apply. Last time we applied for rental the property manager had us do a credit/background check via an online service. This new landlord gave us a paper form asking for SSN, DOB, our checking and savings account numbers, employment history, and other info. The landlord is an older person with a couple investment properties. I'm sure this is not a scam, but I am reluctant to hand all my ID and bank numbers to a stranger. Advice? Anyone know a simple, reputable online background checking service that I can suggest to this landlord? We would pay the fee. My goal is to make the landlord comfortable so we can lease the house. The Seattle rental market is very tight. This landlord has his pick of many worthy applicants. We have excellent credit, references, etc.
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