Finding good tenants is not as easy as it looks. There are several factors to consider before declaring that the applicant is a good fit for the landlord. It is not enough that the applicant can afford to pay the rent because that is not the only thing that they have to do. A good tenant must follow the rules and responsibly take care of the property.
When landlords hire lease agents like yourself to find them a tenant, they are expecting good recommendations. For you to achieve this, a thorough tenant screening process is required. Advertising their property listing is the first step. The good thing is, Padleads exists to make it possible for you to create listings and syndicate them to other websites. After receiving numerous applications, you can now move on to screening the applicants.
One of the most important things to check in their applications is having a rental history. There is no one better to provide feedback about a tenant than their previous landlords. They are the best source of information about a tenant because they experienced it. They know if the tenant is responsible, pays the rent on time, and if they had past issues with the landlord or other tenants. The key is knowing what to ask them. As usual, I will guide you through everything you need to know about interviewing previous landlords.
• Determine the beginning and end of their lease
Most landlords prefer to have current information about a tenant, so they will want to interview the latest landlord. Asking about the length of a person’s stay is relevant because it will indicate how long the landlord has interacted with the tenant. It is an advantage if the landlord has observed the tenant for a long period.
• Ask about the rental price
Asking a previous landlord about the price of the rent is not a bad thing. It is only used for comparison and to determine if the tenant will agree with the price offered to him. It is also significant to know if the tenant can afford the asking price. Knowing if someone can afford a rental or not will help the landlord avoid bad tenants who will dodge bills in the future.
• Inquire about paying habits
A major factor in keeping a successful business is knowing if the customer can afford to pay and if they can pay on time. Ask the previous landlord if the tenant has a history of paying rent past the due date. A tenant with a habit of continuously paying late will indicate what will happen in the future, and you won’t want the landlord to deal with that.
• Ask about how well they took care of the property
Remember that a landlord’s property is their investment. They only want the best candidate to take care of it. Asking the previous landlord will give information such as damages to the property during their stay and if there were problems with the maintenance. They can also recount the status of the property after the tenant left.
• Ask if the landlord is willing to have the tenant rent again
A major indicator that an applicant is a potentially good tenant is if the previous landlord is willing to rent his property to them again. For the landlord to still trust them as tenant says a lot. It implies that the tenant is overall a good one.
Checking up on a tenant’s rental history is time-consuming and tiring, but the act can greatly help their future landlords. Asking these questions will either help the tenant get approved or help the landlord avoid a problem.