Recently, tenants were moving out of a rental house close to Tulsa University, here's my experience with finding new tenants. I have managed properties for about eighteen years and during that time, Tulsa has always been a market where there has been lots of demand for rentals.
I use FB Marketplace or Zillow, I've done both but it becomes cumbersome, it's easier to manage if I just use one or the other.
*It seems like it's hard to find rentals, but it is amazing to me how many prospective tenants go about it in a haphazard way. I put general instructions, how much, when the property is available and some of the applicants don't seem to read any of it. I know life is happening and they are probably looking at three or four properties but just read the description, come and look at the house and fill out an application. Many applicants will just weed themselves out with their inability to follow a process.
*If the tenant applicants are still out of state, it's very difficult. I generally don't accept applications from people who haven't seen the house but many people will fill out applications. I think the Zillow interface encourages it.
*I follow a process of reviewing one application at a time so people don't waste their time and money. I will take applications with me and when people see a rental, I will give them an application and start reviewing the first application that comes back. I follow a consistent process to make the process fair for all qualified applicants.
*I never cut corners on checking references and running a background check. I have talked to previous landlords who have warned me of potentially troublesome tenants. Most apartment managers provide very little information but I ask very general questions, "Did the rent come in on time?" "Would you rent to this person again?"
*More and more of my rentals have at least one pet. I don't accept cats, but I have one rental that has one dog, and two other comfort animals. In Oklahoma, you can't refuse a comfort animal and you can't collect a deposit although renters are still responsible to make sure the animal doesn't damage the property.
So for my recent rental, I received fifteen inquiries online, I showed it four times, received one application and they will be renting the house. My advice for applicants is communicate clearly, go and see the house and turn in an application quickly. If you have any type of blemish on your record, just explain what happened, most landlords aren't expecting a perfect tenant/credit score.
I think every real estate agent should own one or two rental properties to build future wealth and have a chance to interact with more potential clients.
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