There are good landlords and bad landlords out there.
I use a third party background check company that is owned by one of the three credit agencies. The fee is $41.99 and is paid directly by the applicant (and their guarantor if needed) to the company and I don't make a single dollar from this process. I have to do this to make sure that the $300,000+ house I'm handing over to a group of young adults is going to be safe, and that the tenants are going to be safe with each other in the house. I've had to deny people for reasons I don't want to say on here. Think the other roommates or their parents knew their child was looking to live with a convicted felon? Think the landlord won't get sued if one tenant gets hurt or killed by another?
On the other hand, I got my license in College Station doing house hunting. Some unscrupulous landlords absolutely make it a business practice to demand large application fees with the intent of making money, not doing background checks. I hated that then and I hate it for folks now. This is another reason to have good representation. Local professionals should be able to help you sort through the riff raff and keep you from getting ripped off. Bad folks are out there, even in Aggieland.
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