The landlords probably have the most difficult job of all. They have to take good care of their properties, they deal with different institutions every day, they organise a lot of documentation and they communicate with a lot of people, each one of which with different demands and preferences.
But the hardest job for every landlord is to find the most suitable tenants for his property. There are so many potential tenants on the market, that it’s hard to separate the good ones from the potential disasters. This is why every landlord needs to look for specific qualities, which stand out from the crowd. But how to pick the right tenants? Here are a few tips, which can help you with that.
Credit check.
The most important thing for every landlord is to be sure, that the tenants he picks will be able to afford the rent and the bills in the property. This is why it’s crucial to check the credit of every potential applicant for the place. This way the property manager can sort through them and turn down the ones, which probably won’t be able to pay everything on time. The credit check is a very useful tool for every landlord because usually, about half the applicants don’t pass it. This way remains only the other half, for which you can use some of the other useful tools.
Background check.
Money is not everything when it comes to choosing tenants. I’m sure that every landlord understands it perfectly. The personality and the past also count as a very important motivator, when we’re looking for someone to take the place we offer. This is why many landlords conduct the so-called background check. This way you can see if the potential tenant has done any crimes in the past, if he’s convicted for something and if he’s a reliable person. Many landlords in the past have neglected this step, and they have regretted it a lot. Don’t be one of them.
Personality.
The fact that the applicant doesn’t have a criminal past, doesn’t mean that he’s a good person. The landlord doesn’t have to only be a good property manager, but also a good people person. He has to recognise the other people’s personality and decide, if they are the ones suitable for his property. Some people are really hard to read, but if you have a few simple conversations with them, it would be a lot easier to spot some potential problems.
Recommendations.
Even if the tenants you interview seem like the best people in the world, this doesn’t mean anything, if they don’t have any recommendations from previous landlords and employers. In today’s cruel world people have learned to be great actors, and without any solid proof of their words, it’s hard to be sure that they’re telling the truth. Even with the recommendations, it would be good to protect the property in some other way, like conducting an inventory, for instance. If you still haven’t thought of that, you can find property inventory services in London for great prices.
Working with people is never easy, but it’s something which needs to be done if our profession requires it. Knowing how to pick the right tenants for the property is one of the most important things every landlord needs to know. It would be a lot harder to manage the property if he doesn’t.
