Tenant screening tips (?), Would appreciate any "must-do's" in screening tenants Options

[surfermoe]

We just placed an ad for a tenant for our first investment property, and I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for things we absolutely must do to screen applicants.

I find that when people reply to the Kijiji/Craigslist ad, they usually just say something like "I'd like to see the apartment. Call me at ___-___."

Is it appropriate to email them back and ask where they're currently living and what they do for a living?

Any tips on filtering out the psychopaths and deadbeats would be appreciated.

Moe

[brentdavies]

A few mistakes many landlords make
1. Rents to the first person who walks through the door and puts down money
2. Rents to someone who need a place TODAY, in the middle of the month. " my landlord is a jerk and I have to move"- translation is that they have been evicted.
3. No refereance checks with employer and last 2 landlords.
4. Check the condition of the interior of their car. Is the ashtray full, when they are non smokers, etc.
5. Did you check their id and compare it to the application.

Check the critical forms for tenant questions to ask.

Good luck

[NorthernAlex]

I set up appointments always if I have min. 2-3 interesting parties.

I always ask when they want to see it. If they say 2 p.m. or 10 a.m., I always ask if they are off today and what they do, but set the time always at 5 p.m. ... 2nd party at 5.10 p.m.... 2rd party at 5.20 p.m.

During their walk thru I "screen" them by telling about me and asking about them, give them a rental application. Most of them take the Application with them home and call that they have it available.

Next they drop it in the letter box of the (empty) apartment, fax or email the application. If not empty they might drop it off at the office downtown.

After screening them I visit my preferred applicant at their current address (I live in a small town, where I can reach everybody within 20 min) and invite me in. "I was in the area and wanted to ask you about BLABLABLA".

[JimWhitelaw]

For applicants who email, I use an auto-responder to send them back a questionnaire. It's basically about 7 of REIN's "10 questions you must ask" modified a bit. Then I really only spend time reading the info from people who are serious enough to do so and who can write coherently.

[NorthernAlex]

Great idea with the autoresponder! I will do that too.

Thanks CLW!

[invst4profit]

I have all applicants fill out a detailed application form including present address, previous two addresses, present and previous landlords, date of birth, social insurance number, employer including term of employment, income, debts, personal references etc. etc. etc. This form is signed and authorises me to do a credit and background check.
I reject any applicant that has excuses for not completing the entire form.
I reject any applicant that states they know there rights under the RTA. It's good to know your rights but waving them in my face as a threat is not a good way to start a relationship.
I interview every applicant in person and ask to see there drivers licence confirming they are who they say they are.
If they are really, really nice I suspect they are professional tenants.
I visit there present residence, call there employer, present and previous landlords and all personal references. I am careful to ask questions of contacts, employers, and landlords that will weed out "friends" of the applicant.
I do a credit check before I do any other checks. If they have bad credit or creditors chasing them in the past I inform the applicant they have not been accepted.
Avoid applicants with tattoos in obvious places (face, hands etc,), recently separated individuals, couples moving into there first place together, self employed and applicants not presently living in the area.
If the applicant is a woman that says she will be living in the apartment alone but shows up with a boy friend to see the apartment I reject. That boyfriend will inevitably move in and most likely would never pass my screening process.

Set minimum standards for applicants and never compromise those standards simply to avoid losing a months rent.

Study the RTA and know every article before accepting your first tenant or you will be sorry.........

This post has been edited by invst4profit: Apr 30 2009, 04:59 PM

[Brik8]

All great tips...Thanks

[kreezo]

I was just wondering how would you drop by their place to drop off something or inspect the astray of their car without coming off as being too invasive of personal space? Or if they give you any excuse for that you just reject their application?

[surfermoe]

It's good to know your rights but waving them in my face as a threat is not a good way to start a relationship.

Ha!

Thanks a lot for the tips everyone.

CLW, an autoresponder is an awesome idea. Would you mind sharing the 7 questions you ask tenants?

Moe

[JimWhitelaw]

We've used variants of this message, depending on the unit being rented. With an auto-responder, it usually hits their inbox within a few minutes of their original email being sent. Next step for us will be to have an online form that people can fill out, that way we can drop the responses directly into a contact database.

Thanks for your inquiry about our home for rent. Please complete and return the brief survey below and we will contact you to arrange for a viewing.

1. When are you looking for a place to rent?
2. How long do you want to rent for?
3. How long have you been living at your current residence?
4. Do you have any pets?
5. How many people will be renting this suite?
6. Have you already given your current landlord notice?
7. Please describe your job - who is your employer, how long have you been there?
8. Please provide your name & phone number.


When we get to the application stage, we look for discrepancies between these answers and what they put on paper.

[surfermoe]

That's great - thanks a lot!

Moe

[NorthernAlex]

I was just wondering how would you drop by their place to drop off something or inspect the astray of their car without coming off as being too invasive of personal space? Or if they give you any excuse for that you just reject their application?

Kreezo... If I have a candidate who did well in the screening process and made a good first impression.... I will google-earth his current location how/where he lives currently. Next I will call:

3 pm:
"Hi Mr. Doe. Are you available this afternoon? I am anyway close to you and I would like to talk about the potential rental agreement with you? It will take 5 min.".
I don't see any problems doing this as my (home office)door is open to all my tenants, too (as long as they make an appointment).

[MitchCollins]

Anyone able to help me to set up an 'autoreply' feature?

I know what I want to put into it..just not sure how technically to set that up.

A certain program or something needed that autoreplies to every question regarding the suite?

Thanks in advance!!

Great thread by the way...

[CarrieKoch]

We have a couple tips in our selection process. We also use an auto-responder type email. Gives us enough information to pre-qualify....determine if lead is worth persuing. I try to setup several appointments at the same time within 10 min gaps as I work in a few cities and generally am working on filling 20-30 vacancies at one time. I try to be VERY clear on our requirements and our screening process:
Must have a parent cosigner if they have no rental history. We require a one year lease and there is a penalty to get out of the lease. We require paystubs/employment verification as well as photo id (we ALWAYS run credit checks). Bad credit does not usually put us off. We generally will still rent providing they score high enough but raise the rent a bit and offer a discount if the tenant pays rent on time, preferably with post-dated cheques. The credit checks have pulled up rental history that they haven't mentioned. We manage over 200 units so chances are good they have rented one of ours or another collegues properties.

I almost always do a facebook check. Surprisingly enough that has provided me with quite enough information. Barrie/Orillia are small enough that you can get tons of info about the type of person they are and who they associate with.

I really try to "connect" with them in my emails and calls as well as the face-to-face to get a good idea of who they are and the kind of tenant they will be.

[manojsingh]

Which credit check company you use. How long they take to set up the account.Thanks