Posted by When you’re looking for Overland Park tenants, you want to find people who are responsible, reliable, and willing to pay rent on time while taking good care of your property. Today, we have some advice on screening for the best renters.
Pre-Screen Your Tenants
When potential tenants first contact you after seeing your listing, start qualifying them right away. If it’s October and your house is currently vacant, and the tenants don’t want to move until January, I would cut that call short and move onto the next tenant. Pre-screening during the initial contact is important and will save you time and money.
Have a High Quality Application
Your application should have a release for the renter to authorize you to pull credit, check with previous landlords, and research employment history. You’ll need every applicant to fill out the application completely, and to sign it before you can begin the screening process.
Verify Applicant Income
It’s important to make sure your tenants earn enough money to pay the rent. We recommend a requirement that three times the gross rent is earned by all tenants living in the property. So, if your house is $2,000 per month, you need a tenant who earns at least $6,000 per month. For self-employed individuals, ask for tax returns, and for employees, get two sequential and recent pay stubs.
Develop Written Screening Criteria
Have written criteria that explain what requirements a prospective tenant needs to meet before becoming approved for your property. You can email the criteria or share it with any applicants when you show the property. Put it on your website. Be consistent in screening so there won’t be any conflicts with federal fair housing laws.
Pull a Credit Report
Have renters run their credit and provide you with a report, or if you run them regularly, get an account with a credit bureau so you can run it yourself.
This Overland Park landlord advice should help you find some of the best renters in the market. If you have any questions or you need help with Overland Park property management, please contact us at Home Rental Services.
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