Tenant screening is among the most critical steps in rental property management, yet mistakes are easy to make and can lead to significant difficulties later on. Whether it’s allowing personal biases to affect judgments or omitting essential parts of the background check, ignoring key steps in the screening process can result in significant issues, including late payments, harm to property, high turnover, and even legal complications.
The good thing is that avoiding these mistakes can help you attract high-quality tenants and keep your properties running smoothly. The following are some of the most common tenant screening mistakes, in addition to practical tips for avoiding them.
Mistake #1: Failing to Screen Consistently
Reliability is important to effective tenant screening. A key component of constancy is ensuring that you utilize the same criteria for each application rather than allowing emotions or personal biases to influence your decisions. Failure to screen regularly and objectively has various dangers, including missed possibilities for an excellent renter and potential discrimination litigation.
Legal action is both costly and laborious and an outcome that all rental property owners should actively try to avoid. Numerous state and federal laws prohibit discrimination in housing, and it is critical that you understand how these laws relate to you and keep your screening procedure compliant.
Mistake #2: Not Checking the Right References
Another typical mistake during screening is neglecting to verify the correct references. As a component of the application process, you must ask for personal and professional references from prospective tenants along with previous landlords. Employment history, financial references, and personal character references are all appropriate types of references to obtain. Following that, make sure you contact each of these references and ask the right questions.
For instance, you could ask them how long they’ve known the applicant, how they do at work, how well they care for their current living space, and whether they’ve spotted any red signals. Depending on the type of reference, tailor your list of questions appropriately.
Mistake #3: Overlooking Credit and Background Checks
A third major mistake in tenant screening is neglecting to run credit and background checks on the applicant. Both assessments are relatively standard in rental markets nationwide, but some property owners and managers continue to pass up this opportunity to learn valuable information about their renters.
Credit and background checks provide information about a person and can help you identify possible red flags, such as prior evictions, criminal history, or financial difficulties. Although not every bad item on a credit report or a background check automatically results in the rejection of an application, these screenings do provide you with what you need to make an informed decision about your next tenant.
Mistake #4: Ignoring Rental History
Maybe the most serious mistake a rental property manager can make is neglecting to check a potential applicant’s rental history. Rental history is important for verification because it can provide you with information about a renter’s likely future behavior.
When analyzing rental history, look for any red flags, such as missed payments, damage to property, and other lease agreement violations. Although you shouldn’t depend on your entire choice on a previous landlord’s report of a person, particularly if there were disagreements during the rental period, it might provide useful information about how the applicant is likely to behave as a renter.
Mistake #5: Inadequate Communication with Applicants
Lastly, a common mistake rental property owners and managers make during the screening process is neglecting to communicate clearly and consistently with the applicant. Searching for a rental home can be a stressful experience for renters, and irritation can quickly turn into negative feelings. Remember that your renter’s experience starts with the first interaction with you and will continue throughout your association, no matter its length.
To foster a positive relationship with your tenant, start by being open about your application demands, timescales, and how your decision will be communicated. In this fashion, you can avoid misunderstandings that may confuse or discourage applicants and result in negative reviews.
Get Your Screening Process Right!
By obeying these tips and strategies, you can effortlessly avoid the top mistakes rental property owners and managers make during the screening process. This, in turn, can result in increased tenant retention, fewer difficulties, and even boost your reputation as a landlord.
Comprehensive tenant screening can be laborious. Do you want to delegate this duty to experts and improve your tenant screening in Merritt Island? Contact Real Property Management Brevard. Our excellent offerings include a streamlined screening process, ensured legal compliance, and so on. Contact us online or call 321-610-8022 for expert 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.
