Take a look at your tenant turnover rates.
Are you seeing a sharp decline in lease renewals?
Long-term tenants generate fewer expenses, like property damage and marketing.
Another expense to consider is tenant procurement. Long-term residents save owners the trouble of another round of marketing, tenant screening, and legal work.
As these responsibilities grow, you may need an extra pair of hands to ensure you always have quality tenants.
Discover whether tenant screening outsourcing is the right path for your goals.
Growing Your Real Estate Portfolio
Owning one property is enough work on its own. As you start buying multiple properties, you simply cannot keep up with the workload. Tenant screening is just one responsibility within a mountain of duties, ranging from financial accounting to maintenance.
Ideally, you should have an outsourcing solution ready to go before buying your first property. If you're planning on doing your own tenant screening, some services provide background checks. However, online background check services don't provide accurate information, often yielding incorrect addresses, birthdates, and occupations.
It's best to work with a full-service property management company that offers hands-on tenant screening. For example, Beverly Hills Property Management provides extensive screening, using a range of databases, including interviews.
Tools include:
- Government ID screening
- SSN verification
- Income background check
- Employment history
- Credit score tools
- Past rental history
- Public data records
- Eviction history
Experts will also screen for criminal histories, including domestic terrorism, using official information databases.
The Application Process
You can't screen for tenants without the application process.
Experienced property managers understand how to construct applications that identify high-quality applicants from the start. Don't worry about the best applicants getting lost in the shuffle either, property managers host applications online for easy storage. Leads can easily fill out applications from their phones while attending open houses.
Once approved, new tenants sign lease contracts. Even better, they can sign into their tenant portals to view leases and other important documents. This digital communication is vital for establishing good tenant-landlord relations.
Tenant Screening Is a Marketing Process
It's important to view tenant screening as a marketing strategy.
This strategy starts with describing your ideal tenant. What does their rental history look like? What are their leasing goals, occupation, and behavior like?
Your entire marketing strategy should appeal to this ideal tenant. Appeal to this profile through real estate listing copy. Don't hesitate to say you want a quiet tenant with excellent credit and a stellar rental history.
Once you've established what you want, you must do your part to appeal to this profile aesthetically. Invest in curb appeal to create stunning real estate photos for marketing campaigns. Host open houses complete with refreshments, home staging, and in-person interviews.
You must invest in repairs and upgrades to appeal to the best tenants.
Start Your Tenant Procurement Process
Don't underestimate the importance of excellent tenant screening. Work with a property management company that can construct a strategy that appeals to tenants with long-term potential.
Beverly Hills Property Management wants to be your partner in your real estate journey. Browse our tenant screening services or contact us to speak with a property manager directly.
