The success of any landlord depends upon the type of tenant that stays in their property. To be a profitable landlord, the best thing you could do is to do an in-depth tenant screening. A good tenant will not let you be worried about the payments or safety of your property.
Tenant screening is a way of making sure that the person you choose is a good fit for your property. As an owner, you will want an ideal tenant who would pay rent on time, use property with care and demonstrate good behavior.
Following are some of the amazing strategies to choose a good tenant that never fails.
How to Screen a Potential Tenant
There are many ways to screen a tenant. You can do this on your own or with the help of a professional. Screening tenant is might be a tough task at some point, but as long as you make the right decision it’s all worth it.
1. Pre-Screening the Prospective Tenant
Tenant pre-screening is a significant process while selecting a tenant. It provides transparency and makes the screening process easier. You could employ many ways to pre-screen them.
- Set up selection criteria along with all the requirements. Mention all the important policies and rules in the property listing.
- You could manage a phone interview and ask different questions informally. It will assist you in shortlisting the candidates.
- In current days, landlords also tend to get help from social media.
- In the end, provide further information regarding the application process to the shortlisted candidates.
2. Use Written Rental Application
Once you are done with pre-screening, the next step is to employ a written rental application. Employing a written rental application could save you from any potential hassle. You could ask a question regarding income, landlord and employment history, contact information, number of occupants, credit history, or previous eviction. You could recognize the red flag if the applicant is hesitant to fill out any of the information. Reject the incomplete application right away.
One could employ different templates to prepare an organized application form. Make sure you include all the details which you want to get so that you could save yourself from any future dispute.
3. Request Supplemental Documentation
After going through the applications you could demand official documents. It is a landlord’s right to ask for documentation regarding the information the applicant put in the form. Documents concerning salary slip or income etc are an important part to confirm if they provided the right information on the application.
4. Conduct Background Check
It is one of the most crucial steps in screening a tenant. The background check gives you transparency regarding the applicant. You could get an assessment if the tenant filled all the information correctly. If not, you could reject the application without any second thought.
Following are some of the factors that matter the most in selecting a tenant.
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Income
One of the biggest issues that landlords face is late payments. A good tenant must be able to bear unexpected expenditures along with the fare. If a tenant does not earn a good amount of money they might be troublesome when it comes to paying the additional cost (if they arise unexpectedly). The industry standard is the ratio of three times the income to rent.
You could get in touch with the employer of the tenant and get to know how much they earn. If an employer refuses to share certain information you might just confirm if the person is currently working or not.
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Landlord Reference
Getting in touch with the previous landlords is the best step one could take. You could get many pieces of information regarding the applicant. For instance, they could inform you about the rental history of the tenant, if they caused any damage to the property, their overall behavior with the neighbors and other people, etc.
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Eviction
Every owner should be familiar with the fact that if the tenant was evicted from the previous property or not. If they were evicted, one should try to go into the depth of the matter to know why they were evicted. Be careful about the evicted applicants.
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Criminal History
Keeping a track of the criminal history of the applicant is also very crucial. A tenant with a criminal history might cause many trouble in the future. Before rejecting the application if you find any criminal record against the tenant you must focus on some of the points. For instance, what kind of offense was committed by the person, how long ago they made the offense, Is anybody still at risk because of that person. It will give you a clear idea if you want to select that person or not.
5. Conduct In-Person Interview
The next step should be an in-person interview. When you meet the applicant ask whatever you want to for your satisfaction. However, there are still some boundaries you should not cross. For example, do not ask personal questions about the marital status or the kids, etc.
6. Avoid Discrimination
It is against a lawsuit to reject an application based on race, religion, sect, sexual orientation or ethnic background, etc. So the best practice is to deal with every application with equality.
Bottom Line
Proper screening is the most important part to keep your property long-lasting. Though the screening process could be laborious but, once you have chosen the right person it becomes all worth it. All the mentioned factors have become merit that all the landlords and property managers use to screen the tenants in Florida.
If you want to make things easier for you the best option would be to consult Lamar G Property On US. It is a website that could help you choose the best tenant you could ever find. You could leave all your worries behind regarding choosing the right tenant because Lamar G Property On Us.com has gotten your back. They protect tenant’s rights and avoid prejudiced rejection. They make sure all the tenants get their rights while providing the ideal service to the landlord as well.
