Happily Ever After: Screening Potential Tenants

Happily Ever After: Screening Potential Tenants

Imagine having to spend sleepless nights worrying about that one bad tenant you signed on carelessly. Choosing the right tenants is an important step in managing property. Finding out that the tenant has issues with the property right before renting it out(or even much later), can be quite unsettling and in extreme cases, even chaotic.Fortunately, you don't need to search for a cure because we have a prevention.

Telephonic discussion with the tenant even before showing the property: If the prospective tenant has requirements that cannot be met with respect to the specific property or vice versa, it becomes easy to filter out such applications right at the beginning to avoid any unwanted hassle. A few possible questions might be:

• By what date does the tenant want the property?
• How many people are planning to move in?
• Is the tenant willing to accept all the terms and conditions put forward by theowner/management?
• Does the tenanthave any questions regarding the property? (Ensure that they will be answered honestly.)

First visit to the property: Visit the property with the potential tenant(s). Enquire if they are satisfied on the initial visit; use this opportunity to notice if they are really interested and are genuine.

Request to fill in anapplication:Once you are convinced they are trustworthy, provide a rental application which will help compile prospective tenant information including contact information, employment history, preferences, etc. along with necessary validation documents like ID proof. Review the application thoroughly, make sure it is signed, and verify identification details.

Sealing the deal:Finally, do a detailed property viewing and get to know the tenant well. The freer the conversations, the easier to negotiate and maintain good relations. Once everything is clear on both sides, it's renting time!

Taking the right steps can help avoid facing risks in the future. Preventing misuse of property, avoiding mishaps or unwelcome events related to identity of the tenant, ensuring the safety and security of the community and maintaining a standard, transparent relationship with the tenants are all important benefits thatfollow a systematic tenant screening. While processing applications, make sure every applicant is given the same filtration treatment – consistency is essential; there's no room for leniency for such procedures. Personal opinions about the prospective tenant during this process are important because they can often be indicators of the tenant's behaviour and moral values. Tenant screening plays a major role in ensuring smooth functioning and communication in the future as well, and avoids confusion at a later stage during the stay on the property. And guess what? Both you and the tenant get to live happily ever after.