Having real estate investments is a great way to make money. But as savvy landlords know, the kind of tenants they rent their property to can either make or mar their bottom line. That’s why finding the best tenants should be a top priority. 

Great tenants will pay their rent on time, properly maintain the property, and report damages on time so they can be fixed. Moreover, they will also be good neighbors. Good neighbors treat other tenants with respect and do not constitute a nuisance to the peace of the neighborhood. 

In the post, we’re going to explore how you can find the best tenants for your property:

Advertise Properly

If you want to find quality tenants, then you must be willing to expand your ‘potential tenant pool’. This means putting enough words out there so you can get lots of interest. Here are some of the ways to go about that. 

• Install a visible “for rent” sign.
• Make use of real estates listing sites like Realestate.com.au, Rent.com.au, TenantApp, and more.
• Talk to personal contacts.
• Make use of word-of-mouth.
• Do not forget the power of social media advertising and more…

All this will ensure you get lots of options from which to pick out the best. 

Make Sure They Can Afford The Property

If a person doesn’t earn enough, there’s no way they can meet up to monthly payments. It’s not okay to ask how much they make, also ensure that you ask for their pay stubs so you can verify the amount. It wouldn’t hurt to even call their boss for further confirmation. 

As a rule of thumb, potential tenants should make, at least, thrice the amount of their rent. For instance, if a person makes $2,000 but the rent costs $1,000 monthly. Although they may be able to afford it now, what happens if a personal emergency occurs in the future? With little disposable income, they’ll have to spend out of their rent.

Determine Their Financial Obligations

More than the ability to pay rent is also the desire to pay. Many people already have lots of debt hanging over their head, and let’s face it, rent is a substantial additional expense. That’s why it's important to know how much disposable income potential tenants have. 

A good way to figure this out is to carry out a credit history check. This gives insight into the spending habits of potential tenants, how well they’ve been making their other payments like car loans, student loans, and more. A good credit score indicates they’re keen on making monthly payments, so this can give the assurance that they will make payments. 

Carry Out the Necessary Background Checks

Aside from the credit history check, other screening checks help to determine the character of the potential tenant and how they’ll fit into their new homes. Here are some of the screening checks that should be carried out:

Criminal History Check

A person with a consistent history of violence or a sex offender will be a potential risk to co-tenants, especially if the rental property is near a school or community center. A criminal history check like an afp police check that is commonly used in Australia will help uncover heinous crimes from a potential talent’s past.

Reference Checks

Speaking to references is a great way to gain invaluable insight into the suitability of a potential tenant. By speaking to past landlords, you can answer pressing questions like:

1. Did they make payments on time?
2. How well did they maintain the property and interact with others?
3. If possible, would you rent to them again?

Conclusion

It pays to be thorough when looking for tenants, as this is the only way to ensure you rent to the best candidates. Although it might be a stressful process, it will bring in good dividends in the future, as such tenants will make timely payments, keep the property in good shape, and interact well with others.