Finding a great tenant is the single most important job of a rental property owner. Proper advertising and screening will ensure you get a high quality tenant in your property, who will pay rent on time and take good care of the house.

Advertising

We have found that the best way to advertise for tenants is to post on Craigslist. Another good site is Postlets. We like Postlets because your ad will be syndicated on over 50 additional websites. When you’re creating your ad, make sure you have excellent pictures that are clear and attractive. You also want to have your description list all the important details about your property. These websites are free to use and very user-friendly.

Rental Guidelines

When phone calls and emails start coming in, it’s important to talk to all the interested parties about your rental guidelines. Let them know what they will need to do to qualify for your property before you show it to them. We tell all our prospective tenants that we do not do one year leases (typically we prefer three year leases). We also let them know what kind of income and background guidelines we’re looking for. A large percentage of the people who call say they will call back, but they never do. That tells you that these pre-screening techniques are effective. You don’t want to waste your time showing the property to people who will not be approved to rent it.

Screening Process

When you’re screening a tenant, it is important to do a criminal, financial and background check. You also want to check previous landlord references. Most companies will charge between $30 and $50 for a complete background check. We have each adult over 18 fill out an application so we can do a background check. There’s a fee associated with each adult on the application, and when someone is willing to pay it, we know they are serious about renting the property. Applicants will not always tell the truth about their income. We recommend that you get the last two months’ bank statements and last two paystubs. The applicant’s take home pay should be three times the monthly rent. A credit report is not always helpful, but it doesn’t hurt to have the extra information, especially if you are planning to do a lease option or a rent to own situation with your tenant.

With excellent advertising and thorough screening processes in place, you will be able to find an outstanding tenant. Please contact us at Hillcrest Property Management if we can help you find and screen tenants.