There a lot of things that you can do as a landlord to ensure that your property leasing services are running smoothly. One of these and the most important is finding a qualified tenant. This is one of the hardest tasks that a landlord can encounter but since it is for the good of his business, I can say it is worth every minute he spends on doing it. The advantages of getting a qualified tenant surpass the obvious meaning of somebody who can occupy your property as a tenant.
A qualified tenant will save you time wasted going after them for this or that for they know their obligations too well to avoid them and will always try their best to meet them. You will also be guaranteed of the safety of your property for they are responsible enough.
So how do you get this angel for a tenant? The answer lies on running tenant background checks before actually agreeing to get in a leasing agreement with them. It is recommended that you do this to avoid people with a history of some disturbing tenancy because there is always that tendency of a person of getting back to their old habits. Carrying a background check may not be that hard if you know what you are looking for. Before going to that, there are some preparation steps that will make this easier.
You first have to know what kind of a tenant you are looking for and what compromises you can make and still maintain the qualified tenant status quo. Knowing what you want will help you formulate questions that will guide you through the selection process. Note that after making the guiding questions, you should never go against them to compromise for a certain tenant.
After getting a tenant who fits your requirements as per your questions, this is when the real background check comes in. A background check involves digging into the prospective tenant’s past for any red flag that may warn you of some crafty characters. Always ensure you have permission to go after some sensitive information on the tenant.
The first thing you should do is to confirm that this person is not an impersonator and that the information they are giving is true. You can do this by getting in touch with the previous landlord or employer, with permission.
After confirmation of the prospective tenant’s identity you can go on and check on his criminal record. Also necessary in finding a qualified tenant would be getting a thorough tenant eviction history to see if they’ve ever been evicted in the past. If they are any, you should evaluate to know if they will affect your future relations as a landlord and tenant. The best informant in this case will be the previous landlord since their history is more likely to be your future.
One thing that you should never leave out is the client’s credit report. You can perform a soft credit check on your own through the available resources. Once you get the credit report, look out for any poor payment history and timely payment of credits. Note that if a person is not that good on their credit, they may be poorer in paying of rent and this should be a red flag.
There are several other things you can do to confirm the tenant qualification like visiting their current homes and talking to their employers. This will give you an insight of what kind of a person you are considering to be your tenant. If all goes well and this person fits in as a good tenant you can go forward and sign the agreement but if not you can write to them and inform them of your decision.
