Tenant screening is, undoubtedly, one of the most important steps in rental property management, but then again, it’s quite simple to make mistakes that could set in motion high-cost problems and headaches at a future time. Whether it’s allowing personal biases to influence decisions or negating essential parts of the background check, deliberately ignoring key steps in the screening process can create major issues such as late payments, property damage, high turnover, and even legal complications.
The awesome news is that avoiding these mistakes can considerably help you attract high-quality tenants and keep your properties running smoothly. Here are some of the most common tenant screening mistakes and numerous practical tips on how to properly avoid them.
Mistake #1: Failing to Screen Consistently
Consistency is the essential key to effective tenant screening. A fundamental part of consistency is giving it importance that you are employing the same criteria for every applicant rather than enabling emotions or personal biases to influence your decisions. There are multiple risks of failing to screen consistently and objectively, including missed opportunities for a great tenant and even potential discrimination lawsuits.
Legal action is both wastefully time-consuming and uneconomical, and a detrimental effect all rental property owners should work actively to avoid. Most state and federal laws prohibit discrimination in housing, and it is integral to understand how those laws apply to you and to, without exception, keep your screening process in compliance.
Mistake #2: Not Checking the Right References
Another top mistake during screening is forgetting to check the right references. As part of the application process, you should properly ask prospective tenants for personal and professional references as well as previous landlords. Employment history, financial references, and personal character references are all suitable types of references to ask for. But after, give it importance to actually contact all of these references and ask the right questions.
Such as, for instance, you could ask them how long they’ve known the applicant, their job performance, how well they care for their current living space, and any red flags they caught on. Leaning on the type of reference, you should heedfully customize your list of questions appropriately.
Mistake #3: Overlooking Credit and Background Checks
A third big mistake in tenant screening is neglecting to run credit and background checks on the applicant. Both assessments are, by and large, standard in rental markets nationwide, but, in fact, a number of property owners and managers still miss this opportunity to learn valuable information about their renters.
Credit and background checks tell an informative story about a person and can help you identify possible red flags, by way of illustration, prior evictions, criminal history, or financial difficulties. While not every negative item on a credit report or a background check is an automatic cause for refusal of an application, these checks do give you specifically what you need to make an informed decision about your next tenant.
Mistake #4: Ignoring Rental History
Maybe the most grievous mistake a rental property manager can make is not verifying the rental history for an applicant. Rental history is integral to pore over for the reason that it can give you worthwhile insight into a renter’s likely future behavior.
When certifying rental history, warrant to alertly watch for potential red flags, to cite for instance late payments, property damage, and other lease agreement violations. While your entire decision should not be put together from a previous landlord’s report of a person, most importantly if there were disagreements during the rental period, it can bring beneficial insight into how the applicant will behave as a renter.
Mistake #5: Inadequate Communication with Applicants
One last matter to consider, a last mistake rental property owners and managers make during the screening process is failing to communicate clearly and consistently with the applicant. Applying for a rental home can be a rather stressful experience for a renter, and frustration can very quickly proliferate into bad feelings. Keep in mind that your renter’s experience typically starts with the first interaction with you and will continue throughout your association, however long that may be.
To successfully foster a positive relationship with your tenant, start off well with transparency on your application requirements, timelines, and how your decision will be communicated. Like so, you can fruitfully avoid misunderstandings that could frustrate or scare away applicants and result in negative reviews.
Get Your Screening Process Right!
By exercising these tips and strategies, you can clearly avoid the top mistakes rental property owners and managers make during the screening process. This, in turn, can instigate better tenant retention, fewer provocations, and even boost your reputation as a landlord.
Proper tenant screening can be protracted. If you’re inclined towards leaving this task to professionals and properly enhance your tenant screening in Palm Harbor, contact Real Property Management TradeWinds. Our exceptional services take into consideration a streamlined screening process, absolute compliance with all housing laws, and much more! Contact us online or call 727-400-4722 for adept 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.
