How to Choose the Right Tenant

People think about renting out their homes for many different reasons. You might want to enjoy the extra income you get and pay off your debt, or you might see renting as an alternative to selling your home during a housing slump.

Whatever the reason, it is important to make a plan before listing your property on the market. One of the major parts of renting is tenant screening and choosing a tenant who will respect your property. Here are some tips on how you can choose the right tenant for your property.

Financial responsibility 

You should look for a person who is financially responsible to be your tenant, and they should be someone who pays their bills on time. You can verify a potential tenant’s income and run a credit check. The income should ideally be at least three times the rent and you can also ask for their employer’s details for reference. 

Rental history

Checking the tenants’ rental history is important to determine how they will behave while living in your property. Some of the things you can check with the previous landlords are if the interested tenants paid their rent on time, the length of stay, the reason for leaving, if there were any issues when they were renting the property or when they left and if there were any lease violation from their end. 

Pet owners

Many landlords don’t mind if their tenants are pet owners but pets tend to increase the extent of wear and tear in a property. You’ll need to assess your own preferences and decide whether you’d like to allow pets. You can even decide if you’re open to having a few particular pets and not others depending on the type of maintenance you’re willing to bear. A clause stating a tenant’s obligations, such as to get the carpets cleaned regularly or get the property fumigated once the lease ends, can be added to the agreement. You can accordingly advertise your property.

Take your time

You might be in a rush to get a tenant and start earning rent, but this is not a good idea. When it comes to renting a property, it is important to take some time to think about the applications you’ve received and decide on the one that would suit you and your property the best.

If you’re already a landlord with tenants moving out, you should discuss showing the property to new prospective tenants with your current tenants to ensure that these inspections are smooth. You can avoid getting stuck in a situation where the new tenants turn out to be troublesome by taking your time and rushing into a decision.

In the end, you have to trust yourself to make the right decision. Renting comes with risks that you can handle with rental property insurance. You can also hire a property manager to do all the hard work for you to ensure that the right decision is made. Depending on the lease, you’ll have to deal with a tenant from anywhere from a month to a year or longer. Ensure that these periods of time are not stressful for you by giving tenant screening a serious thought.

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