So you want to get some new tenants for your vacant homes. Do you have a system in place to screen them? A survey claims that by screening tenants you can avoid over 70% of issues you may have to face later on. When you screen tenants, it gives you a better idea about them, helping you gauge if they will be able to pay their rents on time and not damage your properties.
So how do you assure you are following an effective screening procedure for your tenants? We talked to a number of industry experts and took their advice on the matter. Here is what they suggested.
Charge an application fee
Ask your tenants to fill out an application form and take an application fee for this. A survey claims that on an average, landlords charge $35 for initialing an application process. There are some experts who disagree with this, but this a great idea. If a tenant refuses to pay the fees, it implies they are not interested and will probably fall behind on their rents as well. Application fees should always be non refundable.
Run a credit check
How can you figure out how effectively a person manages their finances? Their credit report is the best bet for this. If the tenant has a long history of delayed payments, they will likely delay your rents as well.
Check for a criminal background
You do not want criminals on your property, right? They can cause so much trouble, and will make the eviction process hard as well. Check your tenants’ background, and make sure they have no criminal records of any sort.
Draft your agreements carefully
Lease agreements are a vital part of tenancy. Draft it carefully and go through it thoroughly. Mention all the terms and make sure there are no loopholes of any sort. The tenants and the courts are going to give you a hard time if your agreement contains any discrepancies or unclear information.
Contact their employers
Tenants actually do lie on application forms. Get in touch with their employers and ask for details from them. What if the salary information they provided you with is not right? There is a good chance of this, and if this is so, you should remove them from the application process.
