An estimated 64% of Westminster homes are owner-occupied and the rest are available for rent. Thanks to rising demand, investment property owners should have little problem securing rental applicants.
The question is, how do you pick the right tenant from your applicant pool? After all, you want to pick a tenant that will take care of your property, pay rent on time, and maybe even renew their lease.
The answer is tenant placement. With the right practices in place, you can secure a rental income without having to worry that you've picked the wrong tenants.
Read on to learn more about the importance of tenant placement and the best practices to use.
Why Tenant Placement Matters
Ultimately, every landlord's goal is to collect rent on time and in full month after month. To achieve the ROI you need to cover property management costs and earn an income, you need reliable tenants.
If you find that year after year, you're leasing your property to people who don't take care of the property or can't keep up with rent, it's time to examine your rental practices. Are you doing more than interviewing applicants and taking their word for things like income and tenant history? If not, it's time to perform thorough tenant screening.
What to Look for When Screening Tenants
Thorough tenant screening is the process of verifying a variety of information about your applicants. Always ask for proof of income in the form of a recent pay stub or bank statement. Ideally, tenants should make at least three times the monthly rent.
Next, you're going to want to perform a credit check. You want to find a tenant with good to excellent credit (a combined score of 690-850), but you should also pay close attention to their debt history.
Finally, you should ask for at least one reference from a previous landlord. That way you can verify that an applicant was a reliable and trustworthy tenant in the past.
How to Streamline Tenant Services
Finding tenants the right way may be more work than you bargained for. Doing what it takes to keep tenants, from providing easy online communication to handling maintenance right away, is even harder.
If you're ready to streamline tenant services, consider partnering with an experienced property management company. Customized property management services can fill in the gaps or take your landlord duties off your plate. Furthermore, experienced property managers can improve your rental strategy to yield a higher ROI.
Call PMI for Tenant Placement Services
Westminster is a great place for property investors and the pool of potential tenants is big. The problem is that not every applicant is the right match for your property. Our tenant placement services can help you find the right tenants the first time.
At PMI, we believe in a people-first approach with the support of state-of-the-art technology. Our customizable property management services include everything from tenant screening and property marketing to maintenance and accounting. Contact us to learn if we're the right fit for your investment property.
