How to Find and Keep Good Tenants
Finding and retaining good tenants is essential for any landlord to ensure a steady rental income and maintain the property's condition. Finding the right tenant fit goes beyond simply filling the vacancy. Find the right tenant not only ensures a peace of mind, but also protects your property against unnecessary damages and fosters a positive relationship that can lead to long-term tenancy. The rental market can be competitive, but with the right strategies, you can attract responsible tenants, minimising the wear and tear on your property.
Effective Marketing Strategies
Finding good tenants starts from marketing your property effectively. Market your property on reputable platforms only. You risk inviting shoddy tenants when you list your property on less reputable platforms or marketplace that aren't real estate focused.
Understanding your ideal tenant profile is key. Are you targeting young professionals, families or students? Research popular platforms frequented by your target demographic and tailor your description to resonate and appeal to their needs and lifestyle aspirations.
Setting the Right Rent
Determining your asking rent for your property is another often-neglected factor in find the right tenant for your property. Pricing your rent too high and you may price your target tenant profiles out, while pricing your rent too low may attract undesirable tenants. Make sure you analyse the recent rental prices of properties in your area.
Engaging a reputable real estate agent can streamline your tenant search process. Agents usually have access to a broader network of potential tenants and can handle much of the screening process, saving you time and effort.
Screening Potential Tenants
Once your property has received an offer from an interested applicant, make sure you screen the applicant thoroughly before deciding whether to accept the offer to rent. Depending on which country or city you're in, some tenant screening tools or techniques may or may not apply. This often makes tenant screening a tricky and challenging endeavour. However, there are some universal tell-tale signs you can use to screen tenants regardless of which country or jurisdiction your property resides in.
That said, it is important that the landlord like yourself establishes a standard procedure when handling offers from prospective tenants. Avoid negotiating at length with the prospect until a good faith deposit is collected. Placing a deposit shows that the prospect is genuinely interested in renting your property. Do not waste your time on an applicant who refuses to place a deposit with you to negotiate the terms of lease further. If the prospect issues a cheque to pay for the deposit, make sure the cheque clears before you start the lease negotiation.
The Importance of Deposits
Collecting a decent amount of money as a good faith deposit will help to safeguard your time and effort in the event the prospect changes his mind and decides not to rent your property. As a rule of thumb, the good faith deposit should be equivalent to one month's rent. While it may be acceptable to collect, as deposit, an amount more than one month's rent, you are strongly not recommended to collect any amount less than one month's rent.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
Does the prospective tenant make a lot of requests, especially unreasonable ones, such as insisting the landlord furnish the property completely, provide internet access and maintain the utilities account under the landlord's name? While it is important that you, as a landlord, be open and flexible to a prospective tenant's requests, it is important to decide whether his requests are too much for you to agree on. A demanding prospect may not always be a bad tenant, but an unreasonable prospect will always end up becoming a nasty tenant. A reasonable prospect is very likely to be a reasonable tenant too. It simply does not make any sense to bend your back backwards for any tenant.
If the prospective tenant requests to move in on short notice, leaving you little time to even prepare the tenancy agreement, you are strongly recommended to request for more details, such as reason for urgent move-in, and whether he is on good terms with his current landlord. Requesting for a copy of the most current tenancy agreement will also reveal if the applicant is breaking lease, which you can further clarify if it's a voluntary or involuntary lease termination. A prospect who cannot get along with his previous landlord could be a problematic tenant for you too.
Building Positive Tenant Relationships
Relationship building with a tenant is important. There are many ways to provide your tenant with a positive leasing experience with you. Being responsive and keeping a clear and open communication goes a long way in keeping the tenant with you.
Setting expectations with your tenant upfront by clearly outlining rules and responsibilities in the rental agreement. Ensure the tenant understands his obligations regarding property care and rental payments.
Conduct regular checks and maintenance on your property, address your tenant's request for repairs and replacements. Keeping the property in good condition ensures tenant comfort and satisfaction and reduces the likelihood of costly repairs in the future.
Be fair and transparent with your tenants. Applying rules and terms of the rental agreement consistently not only avoids disputes, but also builds trust with your tenants and demonstrates professionalism.
Respect tenants' privacy by providing sufficient notice before visits and limiting the frequency of such visits. Recognise and respect tenants' personal space and boundaries encourages tenant retention.
Enhance Your Tenant Screening Process
In conclusion, finding and keeping good tenants requires a combination of effective marketing, thorough screening, clear communication, and a commitment to property maintenance and tenant satisfaction. By taking a proactive approach and investing time and effort into building positive relationships with your tenants, you can ensure a steady rental income and a well-maintained property.
While these strategies can help you find and keep good tenants, having access to reliable tenant screening tools can make a significant difference. If you're interested in streamlining your tenant screening process and gaining access to valuable insights, consider exploring Tenant Griffin. Our platform offers a comprehensive database that can help you make more informed decisions about potential tenants.
Creating an account is free and easy, and it could be the first step towards more peace of mind in your property management journey. Why not take a moment to see how Tenant Griffin could complement your existing strategies?
Remember, the key to successful property management lies in making informed decisions. Every tool at your disposal can contribute to finding and keeping those ideal tenants who will treat your property with respect.