When you’re beginning a tenant placement process, remember that time is money. You’ll save yourself a lot of time (and money) by pre-qualifying your potential applicants and avoiding unnecessary headaches.
An immediate tenant seems rewarding at first, because it means someone will occupy the property and pay their rent sooner. However, it will cost more money and waste more time to have an unreliable tenant that the owner will be forced to evict later. You don’t want to frantically find a new tenant after you’ve spent a lot of time and money evicting your current tenant.
Prevent that frenzy by finding a more qualified and reliable tenant in the beginning.
Imagining the Ideal Tenant
An ideal tenant will pay their rent on time each month. You won’t need to worry about chasing down late rent, posting late notices, and beginning the eviction process in court. An ideal tenant is also reliable and careful, and they won’t damage your property. You’re looking for a responsible resident who takes care of the home they’re living in. This means following the rules that are set for them in the lease, and not damaging the property in any way.
As a general rule of thumb, Solutions for Real Estate sticks to three basic rules of pre-qualifying. The tenant must have no prior evictions, no missed rental payments, and adequate income.
Tenant Screening Rule No. 1: No Evictions
It’s important that the tenant has not been evicted before. Tenants face eviction when they fail to pay rent on time and proceed to ignore the three-day eviction notice. You do not want a tenant with prior evictions. Prior evictions are the mark of a tenant who is not responsible or dependable. It will save you time when you avoid tenants with prior evictions. It reduces the likelihood that you’ll have to evict that tenant from your own property.
Tenant Screening Rule No. 2: No Rental Collections
The tenant must not have any prior missed rental collections. When you’re checking landlord references, ask if there were any missed or late rental payments. Look for any rental debt that’s owed to former owners. If they do owe landlords, property managers, or apartment buildings overdue rent, then there is a good chance that they will also leave you with large debts and unpaid bills.
Tenant Screening Rule No. 3: Adequate Income
Tenants must have enough regular income to pay their rent. You want to see a reliable amount of money to support themselves and still have money each month to make payments. You’re looking for consistent income, otherwise the tenant will struggle to stay on time with rental payments and the owner will either face regular late payments or be forced to evict the tenant. It is much easier to prevent this beforehand by pre-screening the tenant.
Identifying Qualified Columbus Tenants
It only makes sense to put the most qualified tenants that you can in your rental property. The goal of pre-qualifying a tenant is to prevent wasting time and to find the best candidates for your rental property.
Working with a professional Columbus property management company can help you screen and place the best tenants. We have to deal with whoever becomes a resident for the duration of their lease. As an agent, we owe a diligent screening process to our customers, the company, and our vendors. We can also address occupancy standards, pet preferences, and section 8 vouchers prior to showing the home.
Contact us at Solutions for Real Estate if you have any questions or need any pre-screening help.
