Renting out your property is a difficult decision. When it comes to tenants you never know who you can trust. This is why the screening process is so important. The last thing you want is to find out that your renters have destroyed your property. Screening tenants is a process you can do that nearly guarantees you the right people are moving into your property.
If you’re looking for suggestions on how to screen tenants, we’re here to help you with those difficult questions.
1. Familiarize Yourself With Laws
Before you begin the rental process one of the things you want to do is review the laws of renting your property. Know what your state backs and what they don’t support. This will be valuable information to you as a property owner.
When doing this, you safeguard your options. You will have a better understanding of what you’re looking for with your potential tenants.
Many states have different laws depending on the area. You want to know what you’re entitled to and what your tenants will be entitled to once they move into your property. Be sure you’re familiar with what is specific to your state.
2. Background Checks Are Important
As the homeowner, you’re entitled to do a background check on your potential renters. You should be taking every precaution to find out who your renters are. Doing a background check is one of the best ways of doing this.
This is one of the “how to screen tenants” basic requirements. It tells you exactly who the people looking to rent your home are and what they have been like in their personal lives. It is important to find out who will be living in your rental property.
Familiarize yourself with any red flags that may not be desirable for potential renters. This will be the best indicator of who you should be avoiding having in one of your rental homes.
3. Income Verification
You need to know that your tenants can pay the rent you’ve set for your home. Looking for income verification is a normal part of renting a home to tenants. By looking into their income you assure that they have the means to pay for where they’re living.
Income verification is a normal process in renting your home to strangers. Ask your potential tenants exactly what they take home so that you can gauge if they’re going to be able to support themselves in the long run.
It is important to know that your potential tenants have the right income to pay for their living space. This helps you not only look out for yourself, but for your potential renters as well.
4. Credit Checks Are Crucial
Just as income verification, credit checks also give you an indication of who you will be renting your home to. When you perform a credit check, you find out if your potential tenants have kept up to date on their past finances.
Past finances will give you the indication if they will be the right type of tenants to pay their bills on time and live in your rental without a problem. Tenant screening must be done for any property you’re looking for put on the market.
A credit check is a good indication of what their past bill-paying history really looks like.
5. Eviction Checks Are Necessary
In order to assure that your tenants are the right kind for you, you may want to perform an eviction check. Find out if they have ever been asked to leave their prior apartments. Doing this helps you to decide if they’re the tenants you want living in your home.
Eviction checks give you the ability to decide if their prior history is something you want to take into consideration. Your tenants may have had a difficult time in the past and may be looking for a new start.
It is your decision alone, along with contributing factors to decide if you want to offer them your space or not. An eviction check will give you the information to decide how you feel.
6. Verify With Contacts
Look into the contacts that your potential tenants provide. Dive deep into what the contacts say and take those answers as indicators of what your potential tenants may be like living in your home.
Ask potential tenants to provide contacts that will give honest opinions of what they’re like. You may want to ask them to provide former landlords or coworkers to verify what their work standards are like.
When it comes to allowing someone to rent your home, you will want to know that they have people in their lives who have trusted them in the past. Personal contacts are the best way to make that decision.
7. Have Criteria Renters Must Meet
Develop your own checklist of what to expect from your potential tenants. Tenant screening tools are available to help you decide what you may want out of your renters.
Decide what the income baseline you’re looking for is. Stick to finding renters who make enough annual income to pay their bills on time.
Doing this will help to weed out those who may cause you trouble in the long run. Turning down renters may be difficult, but it is also a necessary process of having someone else occupy your home.
Follow These Rules on Screening Tenants
For the best results of having someone move into your home, you need to be very careful about who you’re renting your property. These tips should help you to find the best renters.
Screening tenants is a valuable part of renting your property.
For more information when it comes to your rental property, we have you covered. Contact us with any questions you might have. We’re here to help you with those big steps in life.