Property owners struggle with finding the right tenants to occupy their homes. More often than not, the arrival of new tenants becomes much more hectic and chaotic than just checking credit scores. The process becomes a long struggle to find someone who isn’t going to destroy the property and is typically one of the most difficult aspects of property management.

Even if tenants pay for the damage they cause to the property, it’s still damage nonetheless. It’s like owning a car. Even if someone gets into an accident and the damages are repaired, the accident is on record and the car immediately depreciates in value. The same holds true for a home or apartment. So now it becomes a quest to find someone who’ll do less damage than the previous tenant.

Of course, having tenants who can pay for rent is just as important as finding someone who won’t damage the property. For all property owners who are unsure of how to find the right tenants, here’s some tips on how to find the best ones!

Income

Tenants’ income is an important first step in finding the right occupant to your place. Before doing anything else, property owners should know just exactly what the applicant does for a living.

Why? Simple. If the potential tenant can’t pay for the rent, it’s just as bad as having no one living in the property at all. This is not good property management! When the tenants can’t pay rent, then property owners can’t pay for the property. It’s as simple as that. When creating applications for tenants, make sure that they include their current form of income or their job as a main priority.

Credit Scores

In addition to their current job, credit scores can be an important aspect when finding a tenant. Credit scores show one thing: how well someone can handle their money. Proof of income is highly important, but that means very little if the credit score doesn’t reflect the potential tenant’s responsibility.

If an applicant shows little to no control of their expenses, it’s hard to trust that they’ll pay rent on time, if at all. Of course, people come from different situations, like recent college graduates who haven’t even had the chance to build credit. It may not be as surefire as knowing their job, but credit scores can definitely play a major role in finding the right tenant.

Background Checks

These can be the difference between having a tenant who will return the property in one piece and a tenant who will turn it into their own personal frat house. Background checks normally come in the form of references such as an old roommate or even a family member.

The best reference to put on an application is a reference from a previous home owner. Previous home owners are less willing to say positive things about a tenant who damaged their home. The most notable reason for having a previous home owner’s reference is that they have no reason to lie.

Everyone’s friend or mother will say nothing but great things about the prospective tenant. Pull in that meaningful source, because one bad tenant could send all your property management aspirations down the drain.

Interviews

Nothing beats meeting your applicants face to face. Of course, these don’t have to be professional in any way, but the point is that meeting them in person can really make a difference. There are only so many things an application can tell you about a person much like how a resume can only tell an interviewer so much about a job candidate.

There are certainly many different things that go into choosing the right tenant, but these certainly shouldn’t be overlooked. These days, many property management companies are already employing these ideas as part of their own screening processes.

Mosaic Properties is a company that takes pride in finding the perfect tenants for any home owner. Mosaic Properties’ screening process is highly extensive and home owners can feel safe knowing that they’re leaving their homes in good hands.