Tips for Finding Great Tenants

One of the most challenging things self-managing landlords face is selecting the right tenants.

Choosing the right tenant for your rental property will either make you or break you as a landlord, so you need to ensure you take your time in this process. If not done properly, you can kiss that cash flow goodbye.

Before beginning your search, you want to have a good idea of who your ideal tenant is for the space. What are you looking for? What are you not looking for? That’s called your ideal tenant.

This process should validate claims made by your prospective tenant. Here are some of the key things to consider:

  1.  Pre-Screen Prospective the Tenant Over the Phone

Don’t book a showing for a prospective tenant if they don’t meet your requirements. Some key points to consider are:

  • When are you looking to move for?
  • How many people are moving in to the property?
  • What is your source of income?

2.

  1.  Look at the Tenant’s Online Footprint

Before the visit, spend a few minutes looking for the tenant online and on social media platforms.

Here’s how you can check them out:

  • Google: they may have been mentioned in news articles.
  • LinkedIn: keep in mind that if you’re logged into your account, they’ll see you looked at their profile.  This is where you can validate their employer and sometimes see who their supervisor is.
  • Facebook: all you’re looking for is for signs that they’ll be noisy tenants.  You shouldn’t screen a tenant if he or she has hobbies you find strange.
  • Instagram: a platform mostly popular with millennials and younger generations..

3.

  1. Verify their landlord and employment reference

You want to make sure that you verify both their landlord and employment references.  A lot of landlord skip this step and the consequences can be detrimental to your success and the success of the property. Don’t skip this step.

This is just 3 of the many steps responsible in screening your tenants. Welcome Home has a lot of experience in screening and placing tenants as well as managing your property.

Interested in learning more? Feel free to reach out to our team today to learn more.