In today’s rental market, finding prospective tenants entails more than simply posting a For Rent sign in the window and hoping for the best. If you’re struggling to rent out an empty property or if you’ve had unreliable tenants in the past, we’ve compiled six effective ways to help you find more qualified renters.
1. Create a Simple Rental Ad
Establish your criteria for prospective tenants and ensure that your application procedure covers all bases. You must collect personal and financial information from applicants and use a reputable tenant screening business to ensure you have all the information you need to make an informed decision. You will require the following information from applicants:
- Numbers of Social Security
- History of previous addresses
- Information on employment
- Number of renters interested in moving into the property
- Information about any pets
2. Utilize social media
Your social networks have a reach that you may use to assist you in identifying ideal tenants. You may post your online ad and application procedure on social media and ask your friends to do the same. Your advertisement will reach many people, but don’t forget to screen prospective tenants, even if they are friends of friends.
Also Read: A Guide To Renting Your Properties Effectively & Quickly
3. Check Income and Employment
Income and employment verification can assist you in deciding whether the applicant can pay the rent and whether their work is reliable. If the applicant’s gross monthly income is three times the rent, they will almost certainly be able to pay it.
4. Conduct a criminal background check
You must screen a renter’s background in addition to getting credit reports. Investigate state and federal criminal records to see whether the potential tenant has a criminal past. Terrorist watchlists and Sex offender registries are regularly used in criminal background checks and should be taken into account.
Double-check your reports while doing a criminal background check. You don’t want to turn down a renter because of an erroneous report or data inaccuracy.
5. Examine Previous Addresses, Landlords, and Eviction Records
Please confirm one or more prior addresses. Assuming the applicant was a tenant, you should look into their previous landlords. You want to know how much rent they paid, if they paid on time and if the landlord or neighbors had any issues with the applicant while they were living there.
6. Interview Potential Tenants
It’s time to conduct an interview once you’ve collected the application, verified the tenant screening paperwork, and confirmed the renter’s details. You must review the records with the renter so that they may examine the results with you and provide reasons for anything negative. There may be errors in your results that can be corrected during this interview.
Final verdict
When learning how to screen tenants, you should perform credit checks, verify income and employment, do criminal and related background investigations, and examine all possible residents’ past landlord and residency history to decide whether they would be excellent tenants. Software and services for tenant screening might assist in speeding up the process.
Also Read: 6 Things You Need To Know Before You Become A Landlord
