Finding high-quality tenants can not only save you headaches but also tons of money. Why? Because high-quality tenants stay longer and don’t mess your property up.
So, in this post, we’re going to dive into a few things to keep in mind when it comes to finding good tenants, as well as some of the mistakes you need to avoid.
How Do You Actually Find Quality Tenants?
Here’s the thing — as much as we’d love to answer this question straight away, doing so wouldn’t make much sense because there are a number of things that come into play before your property can actually attract tenants.
Here are a few steps to follow before putting your property on the market for rental:
- Make sure your rental property is in presentable condition. If you want to stand out from the competition, your property has to be clean. That means the cupboard, stove, microwave, dishwasher, fridge, etc. should be cleaned from the inside out.
- Make sure you’ve taken high-quality photos of every room and corner of the property, as well as a video (outside look included). This will help you avoid misleading potential tenants about what your property actually looks like.
- Make sure you’re as descriptive as possible about your property when doing your marketing.
Assuming your property is ready, here’s where to list it:
- Zillow
- Apartments.com
- Rent.com
- Craigslist
- Realtor.com
- HotPads
- Trulia
- Zumper
Make sure your listing has the proper postal code. Go into detail about what’s included in the property, what amenities are nearby, and what recent updates have been done. There’s always the option of doing paid ads if you want to reach a wider audience and have the budget for it.
How Do You Prescreen Tenants?
Before setting up a meet-up with potential tenants, make sure you’ve done your due diligence by screening them and getting as much information as needed:
- Create a questionnaire using Google Forms: Questions should include their income, whether they smoke, whether they own pets, their credit score, etc. This gives you an overall picture of what kind of person they are and whether they’re a good fit for your property.
- Run a background check: Find out if your prospect has had recent evictions or has any issues paying rent on time. You can use property management software like Buildium.com, Showmojo.com, or Tenantturner.com to run background checks, including eviction history, credit score, and criminal records.
Documents a Rental Property Owner Needs from a Tenant
- Income Report
- Credit Report
- Letter of Employment
- Government ID
Make sure all documents are real and up to date — some people can forge documents with fake income reports and credit scores.
Once the tenants check out and are a good fit, it’s time to get the lease agreements signed. You can send it via DocuSign for electronic signature or do it in person.
Make sure the documents are filled out in full and don’t miss any important details. This ensures you’re legally secure if a problem arises. Collect the first and last month’s rent, as well as proof that utility bills have been transferred to the tenant’s name before handing over the key.
Do this right — the last thing you want is to go through the eviction process. If you’re not comfortable managing all of this yourself, consider hiring a property management company to handle tenant placement and screening. And don’t forget to account for all monthly rental property expenses when calculating your rental income.
