To ensure that your property is rented out for the long term, you need to make sure that your property is in good condition. For instance, if it experiences high radon levels, you need to install a radon mitigation system. You should also ensure that your property is not suffering from any energy inefficiencies. You need to keep up with the Joneses, even if it’s your tenant’s Joneses.
But you also need to make sure that everything with the potential tenant is in order. You don’t want to end up having your property rented for a short time, and then it gets vacated. Before you rent out your property, there are some things that you should double-check first to help avoid any issues down the line.
1. The Tenant’s Identity
Ask for the potential tenant’s identification. Check it carefully, especially if they have a foreign name or accent. Is all their information matching up? Do they have a job? Have they been evicted from other properties in the past? These things would be good to know before renting out your place. Be wary of just anyone walking into your life and asking to sign a lease with you because sometimes people can take advantage of your kindness.
2. Their Credit Score
Tenants with low credit scores will likely cause problems for you down the line. If they cannot pay their rent or manage to damage your property, it’ll come back on you as the owner of the property. Make sure that potential tenants have a good score before letting them move in. They should be able to prove to you that money has been flowing into their bank account as well, not just out of it. It would give you peace of mind knowing that if there were issues with payments, they could handle those matters without needing to rely on you for assistance or monetary help.
3. Their References
Check up on references from previous landlords and persons they’ve rented from in the past. You can inquire to former landlords about how they handled rent payments and whether there were any issues with the tenant. This way, you’ll have a better idea of what you might be getting yourself into.
4. Their Employment History
If someone isn’t working or doesn’t even have a job, it might be problematic for them to pay their monthly rent on time because they may need some time to find a new one. Make sure that your potential tenant has been steadily employed for at least six months before renting out your property to them if you can. You should also check up on their work history to find out more about them as a person and as a tenant. Have they been fired from other jobs? Did they quit? This would give you a good idea of what type of work ethic they have.
5. Tenant Insurance
If your property ever experiences damage due to extremely unfortunate circumstances, having tenant insurance will help cover the costs of those repairs for you as a landlord. It’s a small price to pay for coverage, and this way, should anything happen to your property because of the tenant’s carelessness or negligence. They’ll be responsible for fixing that up with their own money instead.
You don’t need any added stress in your life when it comes to repairing damages done on your property, considering that there are enough headaches involved in being an apartment building owner already. That is why many owners recommend tenant insurance. Your tenants are probably already paying for their own insurance anyways, but it’s a good idea to double-check that sort of thing.
6. The Lease Agreement
Make sure that you have a signed lease agreement with your tenant before the end of their first week living in your property. This way, there won’t be any disagreements down the line when they might try to contest specific issues about their rent or security deposits or anything else for that matter.
It is vital to get everything out in the open and on paper, especially if you plan on having a long relationship with your tenants that lasts years into the future. You wouldn’t want bad feelings to come up years from now because something wasn’t put into at an early stage. Of course, even an unsigned lease would be fine should you decide to rent your property out to them anyhow because technically, it’s not a legal document until everything is signed and agreed upon.
Make sure to double-check as much as possible before renting out your property because by doing so, you can avoid numerous problems from ever arising in the future. Do your research and make sure that you know everything there is about your potential tenant. That way, it’ll be easier for you to determine whether they’re the right fit for your apartment building or not.