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Free Tenant
Screening Tips on the Tenant
Screening Process and Questions PART 2
If
you are
looking for new tenants, our free tenant screening tips will show you
what a good tenant screening process is like and what are the vital
questions that you should ask your renters.Find out how you can pick
reliable and
responsible tenants with this Part
2 of our Free Tenant Screening Tips.
Have You Read
Part 1? If No, Click
here for Part 1
of this Guide on Screening Tenants.
The
Next Step: Meet and Interview Your Potential Tenants Face to Face
If
a tenant application makes it thru the first round of the
phone interview in Part 1,
then it's time to observe him or her closer up. The next step of your
tenant screening process involves
showing potential tenants around the property and taking the chance
to ask them questions face to face. When you do that, remember
to take note
of the following:
It
is All Business when it Comes to Choosing Your Tenants
Picking
tenants is a business decision so make sure that your decisions are
based on financial reasons and rational thinking. Toss your emotions
and personal opinions aside or you might risk suffering
painful losses and massive headaches.
Some tenants may tell you
their tragic life stories and try to win your sympathy and heart over
but we strongly encourage you not to give in. If you really want to
help the less fortunate, there are many other ways you can do it.
Risking your financial well-being by renting your property to someone
who has problems making ends meet is not the way.
When it comes free tenant screening tips, you have to remember
this vital fact: The most friendly and charming person do Not always make the
best tenants. Remember that you are looking for a tenant, not a
marriage
partner or best buddy.
We
had this middle aged tenant who is so cold and antisocial that trying
to strike a conversation with him feels like more attempting to make
contact with Martians. However, he is an excellent tenant with
impressive credit scores, has respect for our authority as his landlord
and is obsessed with keeping of his apartment clean.
Since
signing the rental agreement with him, we never had a
late rent payment or any complaints from the neighbours. Will
we rent
to him again even though it's quite impossible to befriend him? Yes, in
a heartbeat.
When it
comes to screening tenants, you cannot afford to let your personal
prejudices get in the
way. For example we knew this elderly couple from Utah who refused to
rent their town house to any young people as it would remind them of
their beloved son who passed away in a car accident.
To make
matter worse, their property was situated near a local university so
the majority of potential renters were actually young university
students.
Observe the Appearance of Your
Potential Tenants Closely
The
person who once said "You can't judge by its cover." obviously was
never a landlord himself. There are a world of things you can learn
about someone simply by observing his physical appearance and personal
cleanliness.
When you meet a potential
tenant for the first time, pay close attention to his grooming and
dressing as part of the tenant screening process -
Is he neat and presentable or is he a sloppy mess?
Whether he is loaded with branded clothes or dons the latest Milan
fashion does not
matter. What matters is that he should at least care enough to appear
clean and tidy. People who don't bother with their image usually
don't make much effort to clean and maintain the place they are staying
in.
Does your tenant drive? If he does, then you
have another place to look. Check out
the condition of his car. Is the car reasonably clean? Does the look
and sound of the car give you the impression that time and effort has
been spent maintaining it? This free tenant screening tips will give
you another insight on your potential renter.
Remember once again that the age and
type of the vehicle does not matter. What is important is to watch out
for warning signs of whether the car of your potential tenant has been
badly neglected. After all, will you count on someone neglects his own
car to take good care of your property? (which he does not even own)
Now it's time
for you
to show potential renters around the property for next part of your
tenant screening process. For more free tenant screening tips,
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