Property owners universally acknowledged that good tenants are an asset, bad ones are a nightmare. Finding reliable renters is one of the most essential tasks while leasing out your Arcadia property. However, landlords who do not have a lot of experience screening tenants may find it difficult to identify high quality applicants from the lot, without professional assistance.
Here is where an effective tenant screening process can help. A strategic and stringent process can protect your property from bad renters while also helping you maintain a consistent cash flow.
In this article, we give you a few tips to create and follow your own screening process for your Arcadia rental.
1. Create A Checklist for Screening Arcadia Renters
Having fixed criteria for appraising tenants helps you filter the applicants according to your requirements. There is no hard and fast baseline for any of these parameters; their values depend on your requirements and what you expect from your tenants. Some key considerations you should include in your screening checklist are,
- Minimum credit score of the tenant
- Minimum income requirement of the renter
- Whether you want to allow pets on the property
- Rental history of the applicant
- Verifying landlord references provided by the renter
- Criminal background check of the applicant
In addition, you can charge an application fee from candidates. Most people who are not genuinely interested in renting your place will back out at this stage, making it easier for you to identify quality prospects and further improve the tenant screening process.
2. Pre-Screen Potential Tenants for Your Arcadia Property
It is necessary to pre-screen the applicants to make sure they don’t have a damaging criminal history or outstanding debts before you invite them to visit your property. Once you have shortlisted your candidates, you can meet them in person or talk to them over a video/phone call.
Keep the conversation focused on property-related questions and refrain from asking questions that may come across as discriminatory. Encourage your potential renters to clarify their doubts as well and address those as clearly as you can. Being professional and interactive can help you complete the pre-screening process more effectively.
3. Check The Employment and Identity Proof of Your Prospects
As a landlord, it is your responsibility to check the employment record of the applicant. Examine their employment history, current job, work location, information about the employer, monthly income, and credit history. To verify the identity of the candidate, ask applicants to provide valid identity proof, such as their passport, or driving license, letter of current residential proof from their previous landlord, etc. Rigorously check the records submitted by the applicant to ensure the authenticity of the information.
4. Verify Their Landlord References
Ask for at least 2-3 references in your rental application form, to be provided by the candidate’s previous landlords. During your screening process, you should contact them and try to know about the applicant’s behavior during their stay, and if there were any complaints from the neighbors. It will give you better insights about the applicant’s behavior and choose your tenant wisely.
5. Conduct The Final Interview to Choose Your Arcadia Renter
After going through references for your applicants, conduct a final interview with your shortlisted candidates. Get to know more about their lifestyle, pets, and smoking preferences. Don’t forget to share the information about monthly rent, security deposit, tenant duties, and responsibilities with them.
Finding suitable tenants for your rental by yourself can be difficult. However, hiring a professional property manager can simplify the process. At ZenPro Property Management, we assist homeowners in creating and conducting a comprehensive tenant screening process for their Arcadia rental property to place long-term, qualified renters.
Contact us at ZenPro Property Management for more details.
