Tenant screening is one of the most critical steps in rental property management, but it’s simple to make blunders that could cost a lot of money and time sooner or later. Whether it’s letting personal biases impact decisions or ignoring essential parts of the background check, disregarding key steps in the screening process can generate significant issues, including late payments, harm to property, high turnover, and even legal complications.
Luckily, avoiding these mistakes can help you attract high-quality tenants and keep your properties running smoothly. This post will talk about some of the most common tenant screening mistakes, along with practical tips on how to dodge them.
Mistake #1: Failing to Screen Consistently
Being reliable is critical for effective tenant screening. Making sure you use the same standards for every applicant is a huge portion of being reliable. You shouldn’t allow your emotions or personal biases to influence your decisions. Not screening frequently and objectively comes with a number of dangers, such as missing out on a good tenant and possibly being sued for discrimination.
Legal action requires a significant investment of time and money, so all rental property owners should do everything they can to avoid it. Numerous state and federal laws prohibit discrimination in housing, and it is critical to grasp how these laws impact you and to ensure that your screening procedure is legal.
Mistake #2: Not Checking the Right References
Another common mistake during screening is disregarding to verify the correct references. As part of the application process, you need to gather personal and professional references from prospective tenants aside from previous landlords. Employment history, financial references, and personal character references are all suitable types of references to demand. At that time, be sure to get in touch with all of these references and ask the right questions.
To be specific, you could ask them how long they’ve known the applicant, their job performance, how well they care for their current living space, and if they’ve observed any bad signs. Depending on the type of reference, you should customize your list of questions accordingly.
Mistake #3: Overlooking Credit and Background Checks
A third significant mistake in tenant screening involves the failure to run credit and background checks on the applicant. Both assessments are pretty standard in rental markets nationwide, but some property owners and managers still ignore this chance to learn valuable information about their renters.
Credit and background checks reveal a story about a person and can help you identify possible red flags, such as prior evictions, criminal history, or financial difficulties. While not every bad item on a credit report or a background check is an automatic lead to denial of an application, these assessments do give you what you need to make an informed decision about your next tenant.
Mistake #4: Ignoring Rental History
Probably the worst mistake a rental property manager can make is not inspecting a potential applicant’s rental history. You need to inspect your rental history because it can give you information about a renter’s likely future behavior.
When looking at a rental past, focus your attention on possible red flags like delayed payments, damage to the property, and other lease agreement violations. You shouldn’t make your entire decision based on a previous landlord’s report of an individual, mostly if there were disagreements during the rental period. It can provide advantageous information about how the applicant is likely to behave as a renter.
Mistake #5: Inadequate Communication with Applicants
In conclusion, the last mistake rental property owners and managers make during the screening process is not communicating clearly and consistently with the applicant. Locating a rental home can be a stressful experience for renters, and frustration can swiftly escalate into negative feelings. Keep in mind that your renter’s experience begins with the first contact with you and will endure throughout your association, no matter how long it lasts.
To foster a positive relationship with your tenant, start on the right foot by being transparent about your application needs, due dates, and how your decision will be communicated. In this fashion, you can avoid misunderstandings that could make applicants frustrated or turn them off, which could result in negative reviews.
Get Your Screening Process Right!
By sticking to these tips and strategies, you can straightforwardly avoid the top mistakes rental property owners and managers make during the screening process. This, in turn, can generate better tenant retention, fewer issues, and even boost your reputation as a landlord.
Thorough tenant screening can be inefficient. Want to employ someone else to perform this job and enhance your tenant screening in Tavares? Feel free to consult Real Property Management Alliances. Our first-rate offerings include a streamlined screening process, making sure that all the laws are obeyed, and more. Contact us online or call 407-378-7611 for expert 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.
