Tenant screening is, without fail, one of the most important steps in rental property management, but, with that said, it’s extremely easy to make mistakes that could create ultra-expensive problems and headaches in the course of time. Whether it’s permitting personal biases to influence decisions or leaving out essential parts of the background check, turning a blind eye to key steps in the screening process can set up major issues such as late payments, property damage, high turnover, and even legal complications.
The marvelous news is that avoiding these mistakes can considerably help you attract high-quality tenants and keep your properties running smoothly. Here are some of the most common tenant screening mistakes and plenty of practical tips on how to keep them off.
Mistake #1: Failing to Screen Consistently
Consistency is the vitally important key to effective tenant screening. A critical part of consistency is determining that you are making use of the same criteria for every applicant rather than letting emotions or personal biases influence your decisions. There are considerable risks of failing to screen consistently and objectively, including missed opportunities for a great tenant and even potential discrimination lawsuits.
Legal action is both painstakingly time-consuming and financially excessive, and a detrimental outcome all rental property owners should work actively to avoid. Certain state and federal laws prohibit discrimination in housing, and it is essential to understand how those laws apply to you and to constantly keep your screening process in compliance.
Mistake #2: Not Checking the Right References
Another top mistake during screening is failing to check the right references. As part of the application process, you should heedfully ask prospective tenants for personal and professional references inclusive of previous landlords. Employment history, financial references, and personal character references are all sufficient types of references to call for. But, following that, make certain to really contact all of these references and ask the right questions.
Particularly, you could ask them how long they’ve known the applicant, their job performance, how well they care for their current living space, and any red flags they discovered. Based on the type of reference, you should customize your list of questions appropriately.
Mistake #3: Overlooking Credit and Background Checks
A third big mistake in tenant screening is failing to run credit and background checks on the applicant. Both assessments are appropriately standard in rental markets nationwide, but, as a matter of fact, a few property owners and managers still miss this opportunity to learn valuable information about their renters.
Credit and background checks tell a realistic story in reference to a person and can help you identify possible red flags, by way of example prior evictions, criminal history, or financial difficulties. While not every negative item on a credit report or a background check is an automatic cause for denial of an application, these checks do offer you exactly what you need to make an informed decision about your next tenant.
Mistake #4: Ignoring Rental History
Perhaps the most awful mistake a rental property manager can make is not verifying the rental history for an applicant. Rental history is critical to analyze seeing as it can give you a deep understanding and insight into a renter’s likely future behavior.
When probing rental history, secure to properly watch for potential red flags for instance late payments, property damage, and other lease agreement violations. While your entire decision should not be totally based on a previous landlord’s report of a person, primarily if there were disagreements during the rental period, it can provide gainful insight into how the applicant will behave as a renter.
Mistake #5: Inadequate Communication with Applicants
One final thing to bear in mind, a last mistake rental property owners and managers make during the screening process is failing to communicate clearly and consistently with the applicant. Applying for a rental home can be a stressful experience for a renter, and frustration can swiftly multiply into bad feelings. Take note that your renter’s experience sets off with the first interaction with you and will continue throughout your association, no matter how long that may be.
To foster a positive relationship with your tenant, have a successful start with transparency on your application requirements, timelines, and how your decision will be communicated. By doing so, you can advantageously avoid misunderstandings that could frustrate or frighten off applicants and result in negative reviews.
Get Your Screening Process Right!
By taking advantage of these tips and strategies, you can surely avoid the top mistakes rental property owners and managers make during the screening process. This, in turn, can contribute to better tenant retention, fewer ordeals, and even boost your reputation as a landlord.
Careful tenant screening can be labor as well as time-intensive. If you’d opt to leave this task to professionals and greatly boost your tenant screening in Waldorf, contact Real Property Management Gold. Our excellent services include a streamlined screening process, strict adherence to all housing laws, and much more! Contact us online or call 301-392-2172 for competent property management services.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
