Our Process To Screening Tenants As A Crestview Property Manager: An Exclusive Insight For Landlords

Correctly screening tenants for your rental property is one of the most important factors to the success of your home. Who you place is paramount to how your experience will be as a landlord. You may have really good tenants that never cause any problems or ones that always pay late. In this article, you’re going to have a look into our step-by-step process of screening tenants that we use as a professional Crestview property management company. 

Credit Report Check

The first thing that we look at is the applicant's credit report. Here’s what we specifically look at:

• FICO credit score

• Any delinquencies past due 30+ days

• Any debt in collections

You should be reviewing this report thoroughly and deciding whether the applicant is considered financially responsible.

Criminal Background Check

We also run a background check on our applicants. We’re mainly looking for any felony charges or sex offender registries. What you decide to factor in your qualifications regarding criminal charges is based on your discretion. Here’s why this report matters:

• You need to decide whether you may want a convicted felon living in your home

• Do you also mind a sex offender living in the home?

Although it may seem judgmental, it’s important to understand the possible implications of allowing a tenant with a failed criminal background check to reside at your property.

Income Verification

Verifying income is going to be the most important part of screening applicants for your rental property. After all, you want to make sure that the tenants you’re placing can actually afford the home, you don’t want to put yourself or a tenant in a financial distress situation. 

We look at the following:

• Employment verification - Does the tenant actually work where they say they do? Feel free to contact the employer directly to verify employment.

• Receive minimum of 3 most recent paystubs - You want to look at the applicant's most recent pay stubs to verify the amount of money they’re bringing in on a monthly basis.

• Calculate income to rent ratio - Most common ratio is 2.5-3x minimum rent to gross income. For example, if your ratio is 3x and your rental rate is $2000, then your applicant needs to bring home $6000 gross minimum to qualify.

Rental History

If your applicant has a previous landlord, it’s important to contact them and ask for their feedback on how the renter was when living in the home.

We send an email form to previous landlords with the following questions:

• Would you rent to this tenant again? If no, why not?

• Was this tenant ever delinquent or late?

• Did the tenant break their lease early with or without notice?

• Does the tenant still owe you any funds?

• How was the overall renting experience with the tenant?

These questions will give you tons of valuable insight on how the tenant was as a renter and how they may act in the future when living in your home.

Conclusion

Although screening your tenants properly may seem like a lot of work, it’s really important in order to increase your chances of getting a good and quality tenant. It’s important to take your time when screening tenants and be sure that you’re following fair housing practices and laws. 

Don’t want to deal with screening tenants? Don't worry - here at Kuntz Property Group, we handle the entire leasing process as a full-service professional Crestview property manager. We market the home for rent, show the property, screen the tenants, and place qualified tenants in your home without you needing to lift a single finger. Click here to receive a free rental analysis or to learn more about our property management services.