Choosing Tenants
Choosing Tenants Showing a Property Potential Tenants Ask
Questions People Pets Moving Afford Rent Indianapolis Carmel
Central Indiana Fishers Noblesville Westfield Zionsville
You can save an enormous amount of time
when choosing tenants if you get as much information about
them as possible in your very first conversation. Why spend
a lot of time conversing and showing a property only to find
that there is something that will eliminate them as potential
tenants? Ask at least the following set of questions when
they first contact you:
- When do you want to move in?
- How many people is it for?
- Do you have any pets?
- Why are you moving?
- Can you afford the move-in fees (first
months rent plus security deposit plus any other fees)?
Choosing Tenants: Pre-Qualifying Prospects
By pre-qualifying your rental prospects
at the outset, you will not only save yourself a lot of time,
you will likely prevent a great deal of aggravation later.
It is far better to eliminate early any tenants who don't
match what you are looking for (or for whom the property will
not fit their needs) than to find out later (after you have
gone to show the property) that it was not a good match.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When saying "not a good match" we are
referring to those tenants who, by the number of people who
want to live in the property, or by credit history, or by
moving date, cannot be considered. We are not talking about
people that you may not like because of some discriminatory
bias.
DO NOT DISCRIMINATE. Don't
even think of it. Not only is it bad for your business (you
eliminate a potential tenant) it could be bad for you legally.
Get familiar with anti-discrimination laws in your locality
(it can vary) so that there is not even the hint of any discrimination
on your part.
Choosing Tenants: Schedule an Open House
Depending on the number of inquiries you receive from your
advertising and "For Rent" sign, you may want to schedule
an Open House to show the property to prospective tenants.
This accomplishes a couple of purposes. First, it saves driving
back and forth between your personal residence and the rental
to show the property to individual prospects (many of whom
will not show up, wasting a trip). Second, it shows interest
in the property. If you schedule an Open House from, say 2-4
PM, there will likely be periods when a number of potential
tenants will arrive at the same time. This enhances desire
for the property, since we all seem to want something that
someone else also wants.
Choosing Tenants: Getting a Good Application
A lot of potential problems can be avoided by taking the time
to get a full and complete rental application. The minimum information
you should acquire through the application is:
- Applicant's name, social security number
and birthdate.
- Their present address, their current
landlord's name and phone numbers and why they are leaving.
- Their previous address and previous landlord's
name and phone numbers.
- Who will be living in the house. Names
and ages.
Their employment and income information. How long, what
their job is, who their supervisor is (and a phone number
for the supervisor).
- Previous employment
- Credit references
- Banking references
- Personal references
If you are going to check an
applicant's credit,
you need to include a disclosure.
Need expert help choosing tenants for a
rental home in the Indianapolis area? For assistance from Indianapolis' premier
Realtor, simply submit the form below, or if you
prefer, call Kristie Smith at 317-805-7360 (toll free 800-360-5733), or
send an email to Kristie.
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