As a landlord, it’s important to have good tenants—not only for your own peace of mind. Having to deal with nightmare tenants is an experience that many landlords would like to forget. Learning how to find good tenants can save you a lot of headaches!
Whether it’s those who don’t pay their rent on time or those who trash your property beyond the amount they paid as a deposit, bad tenants come in all shapes and sizes. With that being said, it’s important to do some work on your part to find the kind of tenants that you can rely on to respect you and your property.
What Makes A Good Tenant?
It’s important that tenants have a good history when it comes to renting. You can run a background check to learn about their employment history, debt information, and previous rental experience. Background checks are always recommended when taking on tenants because the checks can quickly set off red flags about things that you might’ve never known.
You should look for tenants who haven’t had any prior evictions; if they have, give them the opportunity to explain why. There are some cases in which the tenant has been in the right, so it’s worth hearing their side of the story. Or, you can get in touch with their previous landlords to set the record straight.
Check to see if they’ve had any recent bankruptcies or if they have any outstanding debts. This should not include any medical or education bills.
It’s also important that they have a good income; typically, tenants should gross 2.7 times the monthly rent. For example, if the rent was $1,000, then their gross income should be $2,700. This means that they’d be able to cover their rent, even if they were to fall on hard times. It provides you with some extra security that you’ll be paid what you deserve.
Coupled with this financial responsibility should be a sense of respect for you and for the property they’re renting from you. You should always meet your tenants face to face to try and determine if they are the kind of person you’d like living on your property, interacting with you regularly.
Landlords Must Advertise Well
Make sure you’re doing everything you can to advertise your property. That might mean contacting multiple real estate agencies so that you can get your listing in front of potential tenants who are both local and not local to the area.
The more coverage you can get for your listing, the better pool of potential tenants you’re going to get. You can also advertise online privately if you don’t want to work with realtors or if you want to supplement what a realtor might do. Do what you can to find a large number of possible tenants, particularly if your property is going to be a hard sell because of location or size.
Offer Amenities Tenants Are Looking For
You aren’t the only one looking for something specific—tenants have wants and needs when it comes to a property, so it’s good to try and provide as much as you can in terms of amenities.
This can include appliances like a dishwasher and a laundry machine. AC and internet are becoming standard in the renting world. Private, guaranteed parking options are sought after, especially in busy or densely populated areas.
If you offer the right amenities, not only will you attract good tenants, but you can justify raising the rent to reflect the perks that come with your property. You want to make your place stand out from the crowd, so think about what you can offer that is hard to find.
Require A Thorough Screening Process
As mentioned above, there are certain things that can cause alarm, so try to do background checks for tenants before they sign a contract and move onto the property.
Typically, if you work through a realtor, they will be able to do all these checks for you. However, if you’re doing it yourself, make a checklist and ensure that your tenant ticks off all the boxes before you offer them your rental property.
Hire A Property Management Company to Help
When renting out your property, you can run into a number of issues that are hard to juggle alongside everything else that you might be doing. Whatever your daily life entails, it can be helpful to lighten the load when it comes to being a landlord.
Hiring a property manager to help might be the answer you’re looking for. They can help handle the tenant search as well as the ongoing management of your property while the tenants are living in it. This includes repair works and any relevant issues that crop up with the tenants.
Renting out your property should be a source of passive income. With the wrong tenants, you could be putting in more work than you have time for. Take the time and precautions to make sure you find good tenants. You won’t regret it!
