Tenant screening is one of the most important things to invest in as an owner, but what is it and when should you start?
When investing in a rental property, you must immediately start thinking about your ideal tenant. Building a good relationship with a tenant can help you avoid many problems, but it's best to find someone who has a good history before allowing them to move in.
Tenant screening happens to be the key to finding good tenants. However, few owners understand the process enough to get great results.
Fortunately, LMH Realty is here to help you. Read on to learn all about tenant screening!
What Is Tenant Screening?
Tenant screening is a process that involves using several strategies to determine whether an applicant is suitable for your property. Without screening potential tenants, you will have no way of knowing whether they are reputable and if they will treat your property appropriately.
Before you start screening tenants, it's best to know about the methods to use and how long the process can take.
Methods
Some of the most common tenant screening methods include running criminal background checks, reviewing rental history, and interviewing. Using each of these can give you most of the information you need about a tenant to decide whether you should approve them.
You can also check their employment history to see if they have a steady income. If a tenant tends to change jobs often, they likely have fluctuating income, which can make it harder to trust them.
Length
Unfortunately, the tenant screening process can take several days. Because of this, many owners choose to outsource the entire process to property managers.
Property managers know how to get information about an applicant fast, and they can handle more work at once. If your property receives a plethora of applicants, they will ensure the best tenant gets approved without any delays. They can also retain a tenant by building a great relationship with them.
When You Should Start
The best time to start the tenant screening process is as soon as you begin receiving rental applications. Doing so will make it easier to review each applicant, and it will reduce the time that your property isn't earning money.
When working with a property manager, you will not need to ask them to begin because they will already know when your rental property is vacant.
However, if you want to have more of a hands-on approach to the screening process, you can choose the methods to manage. For example, if you want to interview applicants before approving them, you can do so while a property manager checks the rest of their information.
Outsource Tenant Screening to LHM Realty Today
Now that you know about the basics of tenant screening, you should consider outsourcing it to LHM Realty to get the best results.
Not only will we help you find tenants fast, but we will also ensure that you earn as much as you can from your rental property. We can handle a variety of other tasks for you, too, making your life as a property investor much easier.
Are you ready to maximize profits with real estate?
Contact us for more information about our property management services today!
