There’s a third option. If the tenant doesn’t want to set up DD and you have an account at a nearby bank, train them to deposit the check. Give them 12 pre-printed deposit tickets to do so.
Worked for one tenant for about two years. If she missed a deposit, she got an email, and the problem was corrected within a day or so.
Credit check? What’s that? Never done one. Never had a particularly problematic tenant either, other than one that brought roaches to the party.
Check references, Google, and public social media. Almost better than a credit check in amount of data that can be gleaned. Especially call the references and talk a bit. It’s hard to get 3-4 people to lie in unison.
