You can avoid a lot of headaches as a property manager if you take the time to make sure that you choose the right tenants. Fortunately, there are all sorts of ways that you can do this. Here’s how to thoroughly screen your tenants.
Do a Credit Check
You can tell a lot about a tenant based on their credit report. Look for negative items such as them owing money to apartment complexes they lived at in the past. If they have any late payments or derogatory items on their credit report, pay attention to how old they are. If these negative items have occurred within the last year, then they may end up not being a great tenant.
Have Them Take a Drug Test
All sorts of issues can happen when you have a tenant that’s taking drugs. This is why you should have them take a drug test. There are a variety of places that do this like Clandestine Drug Labs. If a prospective tenant isn’t using drugs, then they will probably have no issues taking a test for you.
Contact Their Previous Landlords
Before you rent a property to someone, you need to make sure that they are going to be a good tenant. This is why it’s a good idea to contact their previous landlords. Find out if they took care of the property that they lived at and if they paid their rent on time each month.
Verify Their Place of Employment
Your tenant is probably not going to be able to pay their rent if they don’t have a stable job. You can find out if they are currently employed by verifying their place of employment that they put down on their rental application. The employer probably won’t give you a lot of information about them, but they can tell you whether or not they are currently employed at their company.
Call Their References
Many property managers do ask for references on rental applications. You can call these references to ask them questions about the prospective tenant, and you may be able to get some further information about their character that you can use to determine whether or not they’d be a good tenant.
Before you rent a property to someone, you do need to thoroughly screen them to ensure that they are the right fit. By taking the time to do so, you can avoid a lot of hassles later on.