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As a landlord, finding a reliable tenent to reside in your rental property, or rental properties, can be a stressful task.
Asking for references, doing background checks and taking a look at finances can all contribute to finding a qualified candidate to rent your property.
Through all stages of screening, from the online application, a phone call and maybe even an in-person talk, it is of upmost importance to ensure that, as a landlord, you are following all local, state and federal housing laws.
There are several steps you can take as a landlord to find qualified candidates for your rental property. (iStock / iStock)
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Below are expert tips for screening potential tenants.
- Draw up your baseline requirements
- Include references from past landlords in your application
- Conduct background checks and credit checks
- Consider a cosigner
- Keep federal, state and local laws at the forefront
1. Draw up your baseline requirements
When accepting applications for your rental property, you’ll want to come up with baseline requirements that tenants must meet in order to be considered.
One common baseline requirement to consider is the rent to income ratio. Rent to income ratio helps landlords make a suitable judgment about whether a tenant can afford to live on the property and make timely payments.
The required rent to income ratio varies depending on the property, but as a general rule of thumb, landlords like to see their tenants make around two to three times more than the cost of rent.
As a landlord, it is important to come up with baseline requirements that applicants must meet for consideration. (iStock / iStock)
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Though this is ideal, it does not account for rising costs.
“What we’re seeing since COVID is the cost of living increases on people’s income have not been commensurate with the increase in rent,” Benjamin Gene, president of Keyes Property Management in Florida, told FOX Business in a phone interview.
“We saw down here in southeast Florida, on average, about 28% increase in rent over a two-year period. Wages were not going up 28% and therefore rent to income ratios have been skewed dramatically. We’ve had applications where 60% of their income would be going to rent, and that’s not something we’re comfortable taking, but yes, two to three times the rent is a comfortable space where most landlords would like to be,” Gene said.
2. Include references from past landlords in your application
References from past landlords are invaluable when it comes to new tenants.
Asking for multiple references from landlords in the application process is ideal to make sure the information lines up.
“On our…
Read More: Abide by all local, state and federal housing laws when screening potential