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How to Find Great Renters

By
Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Capital District Real Estate

How To Find Great Renters

Finding great renters for a residential rental you own or manage can be a challenge.

Home For Rent Finding Good Renters

Picture via Front Door

In a sluggish real estate market, many home owners tend to opt to rent their old places out rather than to sell then.  However these accidental landlords often have no idea what is in store for them.  Here are some basic tips to find great renters without loosing your shirt.

Tips to Find Great Renters

  1. Review and know tenant/landlord law.  When you offer your home up to the public it is important to know both state and federal laws.  Do some research!  Familiarize yourself with the Fair Housing Act, which specifies what is constituted as discrimination.  The Department of Housing is a great place to start when gathering information.
  2. One way to attract great renters is to advertise.  Cast a great net with using free advertisement sites such as Craig's List or Lycos.  However beware of the scams out there.  Also consider paid advertisement on sites such as Renters.com and RentMarket.com   When placing the ad make sure to include the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and amenities.  
  3. Take some photos inside and outside the property.  Great renters typically like to be familiar with the property before seeing it.  
  4. Show your home at it's best.  To find great renters make sure your home is tour ready the second you fill out the ad.  Make sure your home is free from clutter, repair, and ideally personal items.  
  5. Screen the tenants carefully.  To find great renters be sure to pull credit reports, verify employment and income, check rental references, and scrutinize past problems very carefully. 
  6. Use a rental application including a policy sheet.  Find a great rental application for your renters. Make sure it conforms to state laws and print out a copy of your rental policies.
  7. Require the deposit and first month's rent be paid by cashier check or cash.  

Comments (3)

Rita Norman
Walnut Creek, CA
Your Agent in Walnut Creek CA

Melissa: Excellent advice.  These are how I have been finding great tenants for all my properties for years and although I am ready for the possibility that I may have a problem with a tenant some day, so far I have been fortunate. Thank You for Posting this. Very good advice!

Dec 23, 2010 05:05 AM
Jerry Dugan
Corpus Christi, TX

Great post. I just wanted to add some more tips if I may.

Craigslist - I recommend using one exterior photo only. I am speaking from personal experience where a recent $1300/month rental listing was re-posted by a "Missionary Physician" who had to quickly move to Nigeria for $650/month. The homes that seem most susceptible to being used in such a scam are vacant homes in nice neighborhoods. Although there is no liability on the agent or the actual landlord, this creates a lot of headaches when someone actually falls for the scam and wants to know from the listing agent why they never received their keys via FedEx after "working directly with the landlord".

Postlets.com - I like Postlets.com. It's free and it works.

Renters - All the best work is done on the front end. I learned from an experienced landlord with a high occupancy rate, a very low (almost non-existent) turnover rate, and no evictions in the last 8 years who owns about 15 units that the work and patience on the front end in selecting a renter goes a long way. Here is what he does:

  • All applicants complete an application, and undergo a background check (He pays $50 for a criminal, credit, and job history search. I use SmartMove by TransUnion.) Criteria includes:
    • Rental history - Does the applicant move a lot, or do they stay put for 3 or more years?
    • Work history - Does the person change jobs a lot, or have they worked in the same career field for 2-3 years? Where are they in their career track, about to make a transition, or just made a transition? Most people leave a job within the first 90 days.
    • Credit history - He doesn't care as much about the score. What he focuses on is whether or not the applicant can pay his/her bills right now. Are they delinquent 30, 60, 90 days or more an any accounts right now?
  • He calls to verify rental history.
  • Pay stubs to verify work history (no need to call employers...they normally don't disclose that information anyway).
  • Everything is in writing, of course, and keys are handed over once a deposit and first month's rent is received.
  • He does not bend on the rules, because if you bend on one rule, you will wind up bending on all rules.
  • He does not negotiate on the or terms of the lease, because if the renter negotiates this early in the game, they will negotiate throughout the entire stay.
  • He always prices ahead of the market to insure that he has a steady flow of renter candidates. Selection is based on the applicants qualifications and not on his own pricing.

The end result is that his rental listings sit on the market a little longer than most, but his renters stay on average 5-6 years without any trouble and only once did he have someone break a lease because of a job loss in the last 5 years. In the years I've known him, that is the closest to a horror renter story he has shared, and it wasn't a horror story at all. She was a single mother, who he was able to assist in finding a more affordable home AND a new job. She left the home in better condition than when she first rented it.

Dec 23, 2010 05:43 AM
Melissa Furman
Keller Williams Capital District Real Estate - Saratoga Springs, NY
Lic Real Estate Salesperson Luxury Homes

Thanks for the feedback.  Jerry great suggestions.  Happy Holidays!

Dec 23, 2010 05:46 AM