Becoming a successful property owner involves more than simply collecting the rents at the end of the month. Finding the right tenants is an essential step towards building long-term trusting relationships. The vetting process can be overwhelming if you don’t have the right system in place.

Choosing the perfect tenant requires more than scanning over a rental application. As a landlord, it is your advantage to find the most suitable renters that will protect and respect your property. Putting a thorough tenant screening process in place guarantees that you will end up with tenants that you can trust. From creating a descriptive and alluring online listing to checking the background histories of all your applicants, screening your tenancy candidates will require a bit of work. Let’s look at a few tenant screening tips for new landlords.

Detailed Listing

Creating your rental listing is the first opportunity to start the screening process. Including all of your policies, requirements, and specifications in your listing will help filter out many potential applications. It’s essential to list the general details, including rent costs, size of the unit, and availability. However, including more detail in your listing could help to narrow your list of candidates. Your listing should include details on your policies about smoking, pets, and background checks. This extra information can help candidates determine if your listing is a good match for them.

Transparent Policies

When you post your listing, you don’t want to be harassed by hundreds of phone calls asking you to clarify your policies. Include the basics of all of your policies, including smoking, parking, pets, and credit checks, in your listing so renters will have a better understanding of the required qualifications. During the interview process, it’s important to be transparent and clear about all of your policies and rules, including the consequences of breaking your contract.

Credit Check

A landlord’s worst nightmare is ending up renting their unit to someone that is constantly late with the rent. To avoid a potential problem, it’s recommended that landlords do a credit check on all of their final tenancy candidates. It’s important to know if your candidates have had any financial problems in the past and whether or not they have a history of paying their bills on time.

Background Check

In some cases, including the fact that you will be running a background check on any potential renters will be enough to filter out some of your applications. While this may be an effective strategy, it’s still essential that all final candidates undergo a basic background check. You don’t necessarily want to end up with a tenant with a recent criminal history or risk having an unsavory element around your property.

First Impressions

Once your due diligence is complete during the screening process, including a credit and background check, it’s time to trust your intuition. Take the time to meet your candidates in person and schedule a showing of your property. You will be able to get a more authentic feel for tenant candidates that you are interested in having in your unit. Trust your first impression to help you choose the perfect tenant.

It’s important to take your time with your tenant screening process. As a landlord, the goal is to make a solid connection that will produce a long-term relationship. Follow these tips to help you create an effective tenant screening process and find the perfect tenant for your rental property.

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