>>Anyone know what the best services are for doing credit and/or background checks on someone? I have a friend - really! It's not me - who is getting ready to lease-to-own his dry cleaning business to someone and wants to check the guy out a bit before signing any contracts. What are the requirements for him to be able to do this?
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>His lawyer should be able to make recommendations on how to conduct credit/background/criminal checks in your area.

Absolutely. At $350/hr too. Every phone call is billed on scale. That's how lawyers get to bill more hours in a day than are actually in a day. I figured with such a large base of people here at UT - many who own their own businesses - I would get some practical been-there-done-that advice beyond what a Google search would give me.