You would be surprised with some of the things landlords come across renting their property.
Seriously, some pretty out of the norm stuff. Instead, we’re going to talk about finding the right tenant for your rental property.
A huge part of being a landlord and having rental properties is screening your tenants, you don’t want to let just anyone live in your property.
If you’re not careful, you can come back to less than desirable conditions, which equals more work for you and less time to make money!
Don’t just post your property up on Craigslist or post bandit signs on the side of the road because then you’re going to definitely get someone you DON’T want to rent to.
You should have an application process, have potential tenants fill out this application and actually go through all of it. Check their references of where they’ve lived over the past couple of years, verify their income, and employment.
Always remember this general rule of thumb: Their income should be AT LEAST three times or more of the monthly rent. They have to have a real source of income.
Regardless of who you rent it to, here are a couple “must do” tips:
#1 – Never let a tenant have a key to occupy the property unless you have a signed agreement to rent the premises.
#2 – Never give a tenant the key unless you have the 1st month’s rent and a deposit equal to at least two month’s rent IN CASH (cashier’s check or PayPal will do), but it has to be the equivalent of cash.
#3 – When reviewing a prospective tenant’s application for rental, it’s useless to talk to the tenant’s CURRENT landlord to ask for their opinion about your prospective tenant. Most current landlords are looking to get rid of a bad tenant and they will tell you anything you want to hear.
Therefore, it’s critical that on your rental application you ask for the name and phone number of the previous landlord. That landlord will certainly tell you the truth about that prospective tenant.
#4 – Whenever possible, try to take a ride by the house the tenant is currently occupying. Don’t stand there and stare, just drive by for a second and assess the outside of the property and then be on your way. There’s a good chance you can get an idea of how your property will look like in their hands.
#5 – Beware of people who come with just cash. They usually have the tendency to want to move in the same day!
In the end, always research! Get to know the websites you need to know to look up court records and ownership records so you can check people fast.
You cannot deny their tenancy because of race, religion, sexual preference or gender, but you can decide to not rent to someone for reasons; they do not make enough income, have a prior history of tenant eviction, or you find out that they have lied on their rental application once you do a background check.
Always do your due diligence and put in the extra work, it will be worth it!
Go to Cody’s YouTube channel to learn more of his strategies to becoming a boss landlord.
If you want to learn how to flip houses with little to no money down then download the free eBook here!
