The screening process ensures you can get the best tenants possible. With some due diligence and patience during the process, you can get the ideal tenants for you. However, it can be tricky when you have a vacant property and you are losing money every day that it remains unoccupied. You might be tempted to speed up the process, but don’t give in! Here are five ways to make qualifying tenants easier.
Quick Application
Just like with job applications, you can make housing applications quick and easy. You already have a deep understanding of the type of client that you want in your rental property. You can create a digital application form the tenant can fill out for themselves, saving you even more time.
Set up your application so that if the tenant does not meet your requirements, they will automatically be disqualified. This will save you from having to sift through many applications for renters you won’t even consider. For example, if you are looking for a long-term renter with no pets and with a medium-high income, this form can collect that information quickly for you.
In-Person Meeting
This is a vital piece of the puzzle. If you work with property management services, they can do this for you to save you time, but for peace of mind, it is essential that potential tenants undergo an in-person meeting. Although it is important to remember that everyone has unique styles and personalities, there are some warning signs that you can watch out for while you are evaluating your potential new tenant.
You shouldn’t necessarily judge a person based on their appearance, but you can tell quite a lot by their attitude towards you and treatment of you. Remember that this is someone you or your property manager will interact with quite a bit in the coming months or years!
See how they greet you and interact with you. A respectful person will most likely show respect to their surroundings too. Small things like wiping their feet when stepping into the house, shaking your hand when they meet you, etc. are important details to pay attention to.
Have they arrived prepared to sign for the property there and then? A more serious prospect might come with all the information and paperwork that you would need to make sure that they could sign for the property, even if this is simply just a viewing.
Motivated Tenants
A potential renter that is serious about your property will be motivated to contact you more than once. This usually shows an eagerness for the property, and they will most likely maintain contact with you. This relieves a lot of the pressure off of you because you won’t feel the need to chase down potential leads to try and fill a vacancy in your property.
Make it clear on your listing that you are looking for a motivated tenant. The potential renter will typically be easy to get hold of via text, email, or a phone call. Most likely, they will be proactive in providing you with important documents and other information—forms filled out, all of the ID that you need, and perhaps even a deposit. This is a positive sign and can make the process incredibly quick.
Hire A Property Manager
As mentioned above, a property manager can take a lot of the stress out of renting your property. As they are experts, not only will they guide you through pricing and how to attract the right tenants, they can also attend viewings, contract signings, and more.
Although a property manager will cost some money, in terms of the services that they provide and how smooth they can make the process, they are more than worth their fees.
Property managers have seen a wide selection of potential tenants, and not just for your property. This means they are seasoned professionals at picking out those tenants that would be ideal for you and those that are potentially wasting your time.
Application Fee
If you have a small application fee, you might weed out less serious tenants before they can even apply and waste your time. The fee could be returnable after the contract has been signed, or you can keep it, but either way it will be a quick differentiator between people who are genuinely interested in the property and those who are less serious.
Choosing a tenant can be a daunting process, but with these five ways to make qualifying tenants easier, it can be swift. Properties that are left vacant for too long to begin to cost the owner money, so the quicker you can qualify new tenants, the better.
For help making this process even easier, contact Amanica today to learn more about how property management can make qualifying tenants easier.
