Ready to Rent Out: How to Find and Keep Good Tenants

Rent out

Rent out

Having to deal with bad tenants is one of the biggest fears of landlords today. It is one thing to fill up your vacancies quickly and another thing to fill up your vacancy with tenants who would respect your property. However, to get good tenants, you need to create a rental listing that will generate the interest of the kind of people you want on your property. You might be tempted to rent your vacant property as quickly as possible without considering what type of tenants you want; renting your house to someone unqualified may cause you problems eventually. However, if you’ve been having issues with your tenants, these tips have been put together to enable you to find and retain good tenants who would respect your property.

1. Do Your Research:

Before trying to search for the right tenants for your property, you want to first of all research appropriate local, state, and federal housing laws to be sure that you’re compliant. In addition, many jurisdictions regulate adverts and tenant selection processes. It is, therefore, essential to familiarize yourself with the tenancy laws that may apply to you. You also want to familiarize yourself with the neighborhood income level so as not to have difficulty finding the right tenants after you have improved your property.

2. Advertise Your Property:

Now that you have done all the necessary research, it’s time to advertise. In this day and age, the best way to advertise your property is online. There are many websites where you can list your rental property, including Zillow, Craigslist, RadPad, etc. Ensure that the pictures and videos posted on these websites capture as many details about the property as possible so that your potential tenants can do what they stand to get. Also, when writing the description of your property, do not forget to talk about the kind of tenants you want. However, if you are not familiar with social media and your property is in New York, you can collaborate with an NYC property management company to help you with your rental property.

3. Only Select Those Who Fit Your Description: 

After placing your ad with clear pictures and videos on the real estate websites, many eager renters will respond to the vacancy. Many people responding to your advert will not fit your description, giving you the ability to filter and select the most qualified renter. Note that the description on your ad must have a list of what you want in your prospective tenant, which will form the basis of your selection. For example, you could include “Tenant will not throw parties in the unit” or “Tenant will not smoke while occupying the apartment.”. Hence, anyone who doesn’t agree to this is automatically unqualified.

4. Conduct Tenant Screening:

After you have selected the qualified candidate for your property, ensure to conduct a screening to confirm who exactly they are. The screening process is necessary if you care about getting a suitable tenant for your house. In addition, you should check the tenant’s credit, criminal, and eviction history required for you to know how they’ve been living and what they’ve gotten themselves into. You can also decide to talk to their previous landlords to confirm whether all the things in their history are true or false. If you’ve confirmed everything you need to ensure and are satisfied, you can now proceed to rent your property.

5. Maintain Mutual Respect:

Now that you’ve found the kind of tenant you want, you must maintain mutual respect if you’re going to retain them. Just as you expect them to keep your property in good shape and pay their rent when due, they also expect you to be consistent with property maintenance. Also, having a written document that highlights all of your policies and agreement signed by a third party would help avoid future misunderstandings.

6. Be A Good Landlord:

Be nice to your tenant. Your tenants will want to stay if they know that you’re a good person. Maintain open communication and be timely with your response to whatever they need. Learn to respect your tenants. Remember that the fact that they are your tenants doesn’t mean that you are their superior. If you consider all these well, then you will be able to retain a good tenant.

Final Words

The most important part of the tenant search process is the screening. Screening a potential tenant helps you better understand the kind of person you are dealing with. In addition, it is crucial to verify their income insight so you will not run at a loss eventually.

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