Screening tenants for a home rental
May 20, 2017 7:53 AM Subscribe
We'll be moving to a nearby town (about two hours away) for 1-2 years and will be renting out our home. Where we're stuck is the best way to screen tenants. If you're a small time landlord (like we're about to be), what's your process?
Other than rental history, credit report, current employment, and a criminal background check, is there anything else that we should be looking out for? Is there an on-line screening package that combines all of those factors? TransUnion Smartmove seems to have mixed reviews. Is there another that you've used before which you prefer?
Our current home is a bungalow in a desirable neighborhood. A neighbor will be doing home maintenance for us. We've set up a landlord bank account and notified our homeowners insurance. We're not going to use a property management company as we live in a college town and the ones here tend to have terrible reputations. We're happy to diy this.
Please also feel free to offer advice about first time landlord-ing.
Other than rental history, credit report, current employment, and a criminal background check, is there anything else that we should be looking out for? Is there an on-line screening package that combines all of those factors? TransUnion Smartmove seems to have mixed reviews. Is there another that you've used before which you prefer?
Our current home is a bungalow in a desirable neighborhood. A neighbor will be doing home maintenance for us. We've set up a landlord bank account and notified our homeowners insurance. We're not going to use a property management company as we live in a college town and the ones here tend to have terrible reputations. We're happy to diy this.
Please also feel free to offer advice about first time landlord-ing.
Best answer: - Politeness, including respectful wording of texts and emails. Being on time. Just generally the type of stuff you look for in a job interview.
- Dressed neatly, car neat.
- Too charming? Often turns out to be high-maintenance special snowflake type. Personable and pleasant is awesome, someone who makes you feel almost starstruck, like you've made a real connection or something, is probably a red flag in the way described just above.
- If they are late with deposits or have trouble paying before the lease has even begun, yeah. Again, special snowflake issues with banks or funds is an indication of someone who isn't organized and will not treat your home well.
Sometimes on paper someone has enough money, but they live beyond their means or are the types to trash the place, look for early indications and don't relax your standards. This is a contractual financial relationship, but the paper it is written on is only as good as the parties entering into the agreement. Do your part (professional clean before move-in, fix outstanding repairs, provide a safe clean environment) and expect your tenant to pay on time, communicate when the home needs maintenance they are not contractually required to perform on their own (like landscaping) and just generally keep your home in good shape. Understand that once that lease is signed it is temporarily their home, make sure they get notice before you or any repair people show up or enter the premises, as per the law in your jurisdiction.
That's it.
posted by jbenben at 8:23 AM on May 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
- Dressed neatly, car neat.
- Too charming? Often turns out to be high-maintenance special snowflake type. Personable and pleasant is awesome, someone who makes you feel almost starstruck, like you've made a real connection or something, is probably a red flag in the way described just above.
- If they are late with deposits or have trouble paying before the lease has even begun, yeah. Again, special snowflake issues with banks or funds is an indication of someone who isn't organized and will not treat your home well.
Sometimes on paper someone has enough money, but they live beyond their means or are the types to trash the place, look for early indications and don't relax your standards. This is a contractual financial relationship, but the paper it is written on is only as good as the parties entering into the agreement. Do your part (professional clean before move-in, fix outstanding repairs, provide a safe clean environment) and expect your tenant to pay on time, communicate when the home needs maintenance they are not contractually required to perform on their own (like landscaping) and just generally keep your home in good shape. Understand that once that lease is signed it is temporarily their home, make sure they get notice before you or any repair people show up or enter the premises, as per the law in your jurisdiction.
That's it.
posted by jbenben at 8:23 AM on May 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
As mentioned by rabbitrabbit, know the law for your jurisdiction!
posted by jbenben at 8:29 AM on May 20, 2017
posted by jbenben at 8:29 AM on May 20, 2017
I rented a room in my home to someone I found on Craigslist. As a screening tool, I ended my lengthy, detailed ad with a sentence giving a code word that should appear in the subject line of any emails. As a former college teacher, I knew that students often didn't read the entire assignment, and I figured that I didn't want to live with someone who didn't bother to read the whole ad. Still, I was shocked when 95% of the replies I received did not use the code word. It ended up being a great screening tool for me. Not sure if it applies in your situation, but it's a screening tool I will always use in the future. I also ended up with a great roommate.
posted by FencingGal at 9:46 AM on May 20, 2017 [19 favorites]
posted by FencingGal at 9:46 AM on May 20, 2017 [19 favorites]
Actually call their references. I'm always surprised when my references aren't contacted by potential landlords or employers.
posted by quince at 11:06 AM on May 20, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by quince at 11:06 AM on May 20, 2017 [4 favorites]
We use National Tenants Network too and had great success. We also have a longer application form which we require to be filled out in full. We find this helps weed out the people who are flaky and not serious.
Nthing the spidy sense above and general feel for how the showing goes. Do they show up on time, are they presentable, do they ask reasonable questions, did they bring a checkbook for an application fee, etc etc.
We also do open house showings in the morning, usually from 9-11. This works the best for us and we got a lot of professionals coming to look at our place instead of students who may move out in 9 months.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 11:47 AM on May 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Nthing the spidy sense above and general feel for how the showing goes. Do they show up on time, are they presentable, do they ask reasonable questions, did they bring a checkbook for an application fee, etc etc.
We also do open house showings in the morning, usually from 9-11. This works the best for us and we got a lot of professionals coming to look at our place instead of students who may move out in 9 months.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 11:47 AM on May 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Oh, also -a standard that we used that worked for us is total monthly income must be 3x the rent.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 12:08 PM on May 20, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 12:08 PM on May 20, 2017 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Depending on local rental regulations--I have found one of the best indices of credit and financial responsibility is their ability to make a significant prepayment of rent (first and last) plus a reasonable security deposit. It sounds harsh but cash does sometimes make a much clearer commitment than words. I second many of the above recommendations. Good luck and wishing you well.
posted by rmhsinc at 12:16 PM on May 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by rmhsinc at 12:16 PM on May 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
May also be worth screening for people who are only looking for a 1-2 year home. Renting sucks for the most part because owners can turf you out at their convenience rather than your own so you may want to make sure that the people you lease to will be willing and ready to leave promptly when you move back.
posted by freya_lamb at 4:57 PM on May 20, 2017
posted by freya_lamb at 4:57 PM on May 20, 2017
I've sometimes had to provide pay stubs to show I earn what I said I earn. I personally would google the person and their email address and phone number just to see what sort of things pop up, but I've never been a landlord.
posted by AppleTurnover at 7:43 PM on May 20, 2017
posted by AppleTurnover at 7:43 PM on May 20, 2017
I've never found money to be a good indicator of tenant quality because every time I've rent to the best looking on paper I've gotten screwed in other ways, like having my property destroyed. I look for punctuality, boundaries, and a good first impression.
posted by Marinara at 9:23 AM on May 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Marinara at 9:23 AM on May 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
Shoe test! I've used this system to find 5 tenants and they were all absolutely lovely.
Give them a home tour, and answer the door in your socks. Don't look at their feet at all (doing that gives them a hint what you want them to do), but do notice what they do.
A considerate, responsible person will notice that you're in your socks, and automatically remove their own shoes.
If they enter without removing their shoes, DO NOT rent to them. They will be rude, messy, inconsiderate, and entitled.
Note: I actually wear my own shoes indoors in my apartment, so this is not a judgement about shoes in general. It's a judgement about this person's ability to conscientiously notice details, and their behaviour in respecting another person's household rules. If they don't care about your rules or cleaning labour enough to make a good first impression on their very first visit to the space, imagine how lax, oblivious, and/or inconsiderate they'll be 8 months in!
If they ask about removing their shoes, you can put them on the "maybe" list - if you're desperate.
If they remove their shoes without asking, put them on the "yes" list and proceed to checking credit if you care about that (I didn't bother doing credit checks, because the apartment was inexpensive and I took a last-month's rent deposit as is standard practice in my city).
I also chitchat with the person for 15 minutes or so, and I trust my gut. Any demanding, rude, or bad vibes in that chat, and they're off the list. I try to only choose hyper-conscientious, considerate, and diplomatic people as tenants.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 5:09 PM on May 21, 2017
Give them a home tour, and answer the door in your socks. Don't look at their feet at all (doing that gives them a hint what you want them to do), but do notice what they do.
A considerate, responsible person will notice that you're in your socks, and automatically remove their own shoes.
If they enter without removing their shoes, DO NOT rent to them. They will be rude, messy, inconsiderate, and entitled.
Note: I actually wear my own shoes indoors in my apartment, so this is not a judgement about shoes in general. It's a judgement about this person's ability to conscientiously notice details, and their behaviour in respecting another person's household rules. If they don't care about your rules or cleaning labour enough to make a good first impression on their very first visit to the space, imagine how lax, oblivious, and/or inconsiderate they'll be 8 months in!
If they ask about removing their shoes, you can put them on the "maybe" list - if you're desperate.
If they remove their shoes without asking, put them on the "yes" list and proceed to checking credit if you care about that (I didn't bother doing credit checks, because the apartment was inexpensive and I took a last-month's rent deposit as is standard practice in my city).
I also chitchat with the person for 15 minutes or so, and I trust my gut. Any demanding, rude, or bad vibes in that chat, and they're off the list. I try to only choose hyper-conscientious, considerate, and diplomatic people as tenants.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 5:09 PM on May 21, 2017
Many people require wearing shoes in order to be able to safely walk, due to various physical disabilities, many of which get much more common with age. Make sure you're not creating hidden "tests" that end up discriminating on the basis of age or disability status.
posted by lazuli at 5:32 AM on May 22, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by lazuli at 5:32 AM on May 22, 2017 [5 favorites]
Lazuli, that's a good point, thanks.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:23 AM on May 23, 2017
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:23 AM on May 23, 2017
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posted by rabbitrabbit at 8:10 AM on May 20, 2017 [1 favorite]