While the easy choice may be to hurriedly select someone to move in, choosing the right tenants can make all of the difference when it comes to fulfilled lease terms and signed lease renewals. You do not want to have them bail on their obligations and break their lease - or even worse yet - fail to pay their rent and cause you to move forward with an eviction. 

Evictions are time consuming and costly, not to mention a huge headache. Check out these tips to find out the qualities that make a good tenant. As a landlord, especially if you’re new to the property management game, knowing what to look for can help take the stress out of finding new tenants. 

The most obvious first step in the screening process, is to verify that the prospective tenant has an income that will afford to make the monthly rent. Ask for income verification from them such as a pay stub from their job, or a bank statement showing regular deposits. An added step to the income verification process is to speak to their employer to confirm that they are still employed and that they are an employee in good standing.

If you have a prospective tenant who is a retiree or who is not employed, ask for bank statements to verify that they have the funds available to them to cover the whole term of the lease agreement. Using this step, along with the other steps listed below, will give you an understanding of if they have the whole package of qualities that make a good tenant.

The second item on the list of qualities that make a good tenant is that they have a good rental history. Ask the prospective tenant for at least two years of rental history information. Find out where they lived and how much they paid in rent. Once you have the previous landlord’s name and number, give them a call! Be sure to have your list of questions ready.

Things you will want to ask are:

Did the tenant pay their rent on time

How many times were they late with payment

Did they have any pets at the time? (This question gives you a heads up, to make sure they have disclosed to you if a pet will be living with them.)

Did you have any complaints about them while they were living at that property?

Did they fulfill all the obligations of their lease contract?

Did they give proper notice they would be vacating the property?

Would you rent to them again?

Often during the process of questioning, the previous landlord will give other pieces of information that may be helpful in assisting you during your decision making process.

Running a credit report may seem excessive for making a decision to rent to someone, however the information reported will give you a clearer picture of how well they fulfill their financial obligations. Everyone may have a hiccup in their personal finances from time to time, however the majority of the report should tell a story of payments made on time and paid back as promised. 

If a prospective tenant has a history of late payments or a series of collections on their report - steer clear! If they are not in the habit of paying others the money they owe, then they most likely cannot be counted on to pay you the rent they will owe to you either. Being as you are in the rental market in the first place to make money, you do not want the headache of having to have a fight every month when rent is due.

In the event that the tenant has a change of heart or a change of circumstances, you need to know that you're covered. Requiring a security deposit is standard in the industry, and is usually set to equal one months rent. This money will be an incentive to keep the tenant from skipping out on their lease and in the event there is any damage done to your property while they are staying there, it will cover the repairs and any cleaning fees that may be incurred.

For applicants who may have less than desirable credit, you may want to consider asking for a double deposit. This would allow them to be able to rent from you, while at the same time giving you extra resources to cover expenses in the case they do not turn out to be a solid tenant. If you do decide to give them the opportunity to rent with a double deposit, it is a good idea to make sure they still meet the other requirements.

The qualities of a good tenant are easy to outline, and hopefully as easy to find in your next tenant. No matter how much time it takes to find the right person though, you will be glad you held out for someone who will pay their rent every month on time and fulfill the obligations set forth in their lease.

Thousand Hills Realty, Inc. is the premier property management company in the Branson apartment and Branson homes market. We are experienced in choosing quality tenants for the properties we manage. If you would like to leave the guesswork to us, contact our office today, at (417) 337-8081. We would love the opportunity to discuss how we can assist you in your search for the best tenant for your property.