Renting out a property can be fraught with risk, especially if you don’t do your due diligence when selecting tenants. It may seem like a difficult task to find the perfect tenants, but there are tried and true ways to mitigate your risk and select tenants who won’t cause you problems down the line. Here are six things to check for to make sure you’re choosing a good tenant:
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Creditworthiness
Even if candidates have a good income and make three times the amount of rent, they may still be late with rent payments if they have piles of debt. Always be sure to run a credit check to make sure your potential tenants aren’t facing financial difficulties.
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Financial Responsibility
You should also check credit scores to see if your prospective tenant has a history of making late payments, or even missing payments entirely. This is likely a sign of poor financial planning and responsibility, and this person is unlikely to be a good tenant.
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Respectfulness
A respectful tenant will be a quiet neighbor, will keep the property clean and well maintained, and will alert the landlord whenever something goes wrong that needs to be fixed. A good way to judge respectfulness is by seeing how the tenants conduct themselves when meeting you. Are they on time for their appointment? Are they polite? Or do they constantly complain about things and tell you all about their problems?
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Clean Background
A criminal background check is necessary to make sure the person you’re considering renting to has a clean background with no criminal history. In some cases, it may be fine to rent to someone with minor infractions on his or her record, but a background check should always be considered essential.
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Stability/Responsibility
A good tenant is one who is stable, responsible, and respectful. Call previous landlords to see if your potential tenant made rent on time, caused any property damage, or had noise complaints from neighbors.
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Trustworthiness
While it’s nice to think that most people are honest, it is possible for prospective tenants to lie when giving out information. Always check that their application information matches their license, and require income verification.
Finding a good tenant to live in your rental property isn’t always easy, but it is possible. By being mindful of these six points, you’ll be much more likely to find a tenant you can trust. Need more tips on how to run your company? Contact us today!