Tenant screening is certainly one of the most important steps in rental property management, but, on the other hand, it’s so very easy to make mistakes that could stir up super expensive headaches at a later time. Whether it’s letting personal biases influence decisions or negating essential parts of the background check, skipping key steps in the screening process can induce major issues such as late payments, property damage, high turnover, and even legal complications.
The joyful news is that avoiding these mistakes can immensely help you attract high-quality tenants and keep your properties running smoothly. Here are some of the most common tenant screening mistakes and some practical tips on how to keep away from them.
Mistake #1: Failing to Screen Consistently
Consistency is the pertinent key to effective tenant screening. A great part of consistency is making sure that you are performing the same criteria for every applicant rather than letting emotions or personal biases influence your decisions. There are a vast number of risks of failing to screen consistently and objectively, like hard missed opportunities for a great tenant and even potential discrimination lawsuits.
Legal action is both costly and time-consuming and an adverse eventuality all rental property owners should work actively to avoid. Quite a lot of state and federal laws prohibit discrimination in housing, and it is pivotal to understand how those laws apply to you and to keep your screening process in compliance.
Mistake #2: Not Checking the Right References
Another top mistake during screening is neglecting to check the right references. As part of the application process, you should heedfully ask prospective tenants for personal and professional references coupled with previous landlords. Employment history, financial references, and personal character references are all suited types of references to ask. Later on, ensure to directly contact all of these references and ask the right questions.
In particular, 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 ascertained. Corresponding to the type of reference, you should revise your list of questions suitably.
Mistake #3: Overlooking Credit and Background Checks
A third big mistake in tenant screening is failing to run credit and background checks on the applicant. Both assessments are normally standard in rental markets nationwide, but despite that, a few property owners and managers still miss this opportunity to learn valuable information about their renters.
Credit and background checks tell a revealing story relative to a person and can help you identify possible red flags, the same as 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 disapproval of an application, these checks do grant you just what you need to make an informed decision about your next tenant.
Mistake #4: Ignoring Rental History
Maybe the gravest mistake a rental property manager can make is not verifying the rental history for an applicant. Rental history is critical to peer into in as much as it can give you wisdom and clear insight into a renter’s likely future behavior.
When confirming rental history, establish to properly watch for potential red flags such as late payments, property damage, and other lease agreement violations. While your entire decision should not be utterly based ony a previous landlord’s report of a person, notably if there were disagreements during the rental period, it can lend useful insight into how the applicant will behave as a renter.
Mistake #5: Inadequate Communication with Applicants
Last but not least, 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 stressful experience for a renter, and frustration can swiftly accumulate into bad feelings. Note that your renter’s experience always starts with the first interaction with you and will continue throughout your association, however long that may be.
To foster a positive relationship with your tenant, get off well on the right foot with transparency on your application requirements, timelines, and how your decision will be communicated. Consequently, you can effectively avoid misunderstandings that could frustrate or scare applicants and result in negative reviews.
Get Your Screening Process Right!
By executing these tips and strategies, you can completely avoid the top mistakes rental property owners and managers make during the screening process. This, in turn, can produce better tenant retention, fewer hardships, and even boost your reputation as a landlord.
Great tenant screening can be typically time-consuming. If you’d wish to leave this task to professionals and develop more your tenant screening in Milford, contact Real Property Management Thrive. Our fabulous services include a streamlined screening process, complete compliance with all housing laws, and much more! Contact us online or call 603-255-4100 for knowledgeable and competent 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.
