Finding the right tenant is a dream for every landlord. It would be best if you found the ideal tenant for your property, as it significantly determines the success of your investment. The tenant screening process is a challenge to most, mainly because most property owners do not take the time to create a practical selection system. This article features a 3-part tenant screening service checklist to improve your chances of signing rental agreements with worthy tenants.
How to Screen Your Tenants
Pre-Screening
Build Your Tenant Screening Criteria
Creating your property’s tenant screening criteria is the first step in pre-screening. As many would assume, it is not a fun step since it requires you to identify characteristics that make you the ideal tenant for your property.
You will need to create answers to help you judge your potential tenants easily and faster. The screening criteria also help explain to those rejected why they were denied. It may also help defend yourself against possible legal battles from parties unsatisfied with your operations.
Advertise Effectively
Real estate significantly depends on advertising skills. You need to effectively advertise your rentals to get a large pool of potential tenants. It is easier to find the ideal tenant in a pool of ten prospects than five.
Effective advertisements would help explain the apartment features in detail and in an enticing approach to capture the attention of many. Also, you increase your property’s exposure by seeking multiple advertising channels. Take your time learning about the most effective advertisement strategy and implementing it for promising results.
Pre-Screen Interested Tenants
It is common for property owners to show potential renters their property, only for the applicant to withdraw interest. You can prevent it by investing in a pre-screening strategy before opening the doors to your rental. The pre-screen will help you understand the client better, provide more information about your property and ensure you are on the same page.
Primary Screening
Show Your Rental
Your first physical interaction with the potential tenant will probably be when showing them the property. You must display professionalism and take the time to know the individual better. There are several practical approaches to showing off your rental; an open house will attract many people, while individual bookings guarantee more serious renters.
Collect the Applications
Most property owners overlook this step when screening their potential tenants. The renters must fill out compliant rental application forms as it will help you gather more information to help with screening. The data collected can also help you in case of any severe issues with the tenant.
Conduct a Background Check
Background checks help weed out potential nuisances in your pool of renters. You can learn about individuals and their living patterns from their past interactions with other landlords and tenants. Remove all applicants with any trait or comment you find risky for your property. Multiple noise complaints, poor credit, several eviction notices, and recent bankruptcy are red flags to watch out for.
Selection
Pick the Ideal Tenant
The defining moment of the entire process is when you pick your ideal tenant. Ensure you consider all aspects of your screening criteria and that the choice is best for your property. As much as you can find the perfect renter, you can also pick a bad one.
Communicate
Communication is key in real estate. When renting property, you need to ensure all parties are informed about the outcome of the process. You should announce the contract winner and explain why they did not qualify to the unlucky applicant. Ensure you adhere to professionalism and follow the formal approach required by the law.
Welcome Your New Tenant
At this stage, the landlord can relax. The only thing left would be handing over the keys to the rental after signing a rental agreement.
What Makes a Good Tenant?
Healthy Residents and Credit History
Non-payment of rent is every landlord’s main concern with new tenants. Most individuals defaulting on rent payments have poor credit scores and an unhealthy resident history. If you do not observe any warning signs in their credit report, they probably make timely payments, making them perfect tenants.
Clean Background Check
Your perfect renter should have a clean background check. A background check is necessary during the screening stage as it helps identify potential red flags from the applicants. You can consider established service providers like EZlandlordforms to help you with your applicants’ background checks and other tenant screening services, https://www.ezlandlordforms.com/tenant-screening-services/.
Sufficient Income
A sufficient income goes hand in hand with a stable employment history with potential tenants. An ideal tenant should make timely rent payments. You can observe an individual’s credit report or employment history to identify their eligibility to meet payment deadlines. An individual should at least make three times more than they pay rent each month to guarantee consistent payments.
Why Do Landlords Need to Screen Tenants?
The primary reason for all landlords to invest in screening potential renters is to protect their property. Screening helps identify red signs from the applicants that might expose your rentals to physical damage or even a bad reputation. You also create a safer and more friendly environment for all your tenants. Thanks to an effective screening criterion, payment issues or other common tenant-landlord quarrels will be reduced to a minimum.
Conclusion
Landlords need to understand the significance of screening applicants. The process helps you know who you will be welcoming to your property and if their traits will contribute to a positive environment. The shared information will benefit all property owners in making informed decisions when vetting potential renters.