Being a landlord or a property manager is no easy feat, especially in this current housing market. It is a stressful, tiresome job, and it can become more and more complicated overtime.
One of the biggest stresses of being a landlord is filling your spaces. Finding a reliable tenant for your property sometimes feels impossible, and like an endless search. But, if you look in the right places, have a rigorous set of rules you follow, and trust the process, you are bound to find suitable tenants sooner rather than later. So, let’s get the search started.
Look in the Right Places
Think about the type of person you want in your space and brainstorm the locations in town that they would most likely be. Say you want a younger college student to fill your property—in that case, you can advertise at a coffee shop near the school. Or say you don’t want someone with pets—in that case, it probably isn’t a good idea to put up a flyer at the dog park, pet store, or your local animal shelter, because the people who frequent those locations are most likely current or future pet owners. Be smart with where you advertise your space, because it really can make all the difference.
Run a Background Check
We know it sometimes sounds harsh when you say you need to run a background check, but it is one of the best ways to see if you are finding a reliable tenant for your property. Plus, there are so many different types of background checks now, you can run a less invasive one if you are feeling uncomfortable about it.
You can check eviction history to see if they have past evictions, but not check for things like criminal history or driving records. In any case, don’t be afraid to run whatever length of background check you see fit, as it is your property they will be residing in. The more in-depth you go, the more you will learn about who the potential tenant really is.
Ask for References
Yeah, we know that you normally only get asked for references when you are applying for a job, but it is a great idea for landlords to ask for references when they are renting their property. It will require the tenants to do a little bit of extra work and write down the names and contact information of people who can serve as references.
Once you have the necessary contact information, you can call the references and see what they have to say about the applicant. Have questions written down ready to ask them, but change the questions from reference to reference. This will help to keep them honest and unrehearsed.
Have a Year Lease Agreement
When someone signs a lease, they know that they are signing a document that says they will stay in their rental for a certain amount of time and will live by a certain set of rules. If you are worried you are going to get flakey tenants that will move out within a few months, you may want to consider having them sign for a certain time period.
Six months or a full year are very common lease lengths and are not going to scare reliable tenants away. Once they have reached that length of time, it may be time to send them a little something and ask them to re-sign to stay at the property.
Though this search is never easy, it will become easier and easier with more practice and effort. We hope that you have a fruitful search and that you find reliable tenants for your property. Good luck and happy hunting.
