A landlord’s priority is maintaining their property. If the rental is occupied, it continues to generate income which can be used to pay for improvements and repairs.
However, there are steps that landlords should take before accepting new tenants who could potentially damage the property they are leasing.
These Steps Include:
Have The Tenants Sign a Contract Before They Move In
In order to protect yourself from liability and to ensure that your property is being looked after, landlords should make sure that tenants sign an occupancy agreement which include the terms and conditions of renting the property, the monthly payment required, the property rules as well as the notice period for tenants before they take up residence.
Providing written proof of the occupation helps protect both parties when disagreements arise over damage and maintenance issues further down the line. Among other things, this form helps demonstrate what level of care and attention the tenant has been paying towards protecting and maintaining your investment.
Meeting Them In-Person
A crucial step for a landlord is meeting the potential tenant in person so that they may get an idea of what kind of people they will be living next door to.
This way, if there are any red flags, they can be identified prior to ever signing anything on paper. A good place to meet would be at their current residence since this shows where they currently reside without giving away the landlord’s current address.
Check Their References
It is not enough to just take a tenant’s word for it when they give you some phone numbers following your meeting, so be sure to actually call each number and speak with one of the references.
This helps weed out any lying about past evictions or rental history on either side of this transaction. You may even find out that they are bad tenants who had caused issues with other landlords in the past but never brought it up before simply because they weren’t asked!
If possible, check on these references from previous landlords as well since they’re an equally important source of reference information.
Check Their Credit Report
It is extremely important that a landlord checks a potential tenant’s credit report to ensure that they actually pay their bills on time. This way, you will know what type of person your new tenants are and how they handle financial issues before taking them in as a renter.
Make Sure They Have Enough Monthly Income
A big red flag for landlords is when applicants claim to make an amount of money per month that is higher than the average household income for their area.
For example, if you live in a neighbourhood where the average household income is $50k per year, but someone comes along and claims to make $100k per month while unemployed, this is a sign that something isn’t right with this applicant, and you should be wary of them.
Always ask for pay stubs and bank statements to ensure that they are truthful about their monthly income.
Check If They Have a Criminal Record
It is crucial to look into the background of the potential renter before accepting them.
Suppose it turns out that they have a history of violent crime, drug use or any other serious issue. In that case, you may want to rethink taking them in as renters and giving out your address since this person has shown an issue with authority and responsibility in the past.
Sometimes, even one incident can be enough to determine whether or not someone should be trusted as a tenant.
Speak With Previous Landlords
Following up on those references from previous landlords goes both ways! In addition to calling each reference they provide, reach out to the prior landlords in order to get an idea of how dependable and courteous this person has been in the past.
Remember that their current landlord is not always their first one, so sometimes, people move around a lot due to bad living situations. This may not be a good sign but can still come up during your check-in process with previous landlords if it did happen in the past.
In Conclusion
The best thing for landlords to do is always be proactive rather than reactive since this helps prevent problems from reaching new heights and ensures that everything runs as smoothly as possible at all times.
Suppose you consistently show yourself as someone who cares about their tenants and tries to work through any issues that may arise. In that case, your tenants will usually feel more comfortable coming to you with any personal problems they’re facing.
Of course, some people just won’t care about their living situation,, but it is best to weed them out during the screening process to avoid any major problems later on.
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