How do you know you have a good applicant?
You don’t - Doing your due diligence with reference and credit checks which indicate positive information about tenants could result in a negative experience. How does Cartref Properties selection process help owners find quality tenants?.
In a previous blog about stage one of the tenancy we discussed how the tenant selection process has multiple steps. Each step gives you the opportunity to learn more about applicants before deciding to rent your property to them. The tenant selection processes shouldn’t be rushed, to ensure due diligence can be performed effectively.
Each step gives you the opportunity to confirm or verify information, eliminating tenants who may not be suitable for your property. Tenant selection has three main steps, screening, showing and evaluating, when not rushed are very effective in selecting quality tenants.
The screening process is performed when applicants contact us asking to rent or view the property. This step gives the opportunity to ask basic information including who would be renting the unit, when they want to move in, where they currently live and why they are moving. They may not provide all these details during this process and you will need to decide if you want to proceed to the next step based on the information provided. How quickly they reply or effectively they answer your questions gives insight into them as a person. I often asked people to tell me about themselves and who would live there and the reply was just the number of people, with no further details. This is a sign they are not reading our request.
Showing the property is an opportunity to interview the applicants in person. It shows if they are respectful of our time, property and process. When applicants fail to attend a showing on time without an explanation it provides insight into their character. How the tenant views your property, do they ask to enter, or open a door or closet, or do they proceed without asking provides further indication of their personality. If an applicant asks if you can alter the selection process it often indicates inaccurate information may be provided.
When potential renters are viewing the property it is important to ask questions about them, including where they work, live and plan on moving. These questions would be asked in the screening process, during the showing is the opportunity to hear if the applicants provide the same information or different details. A showing also provides the opportunity to explain the evaluating process and what is expected during the tenancy at the property.
The final step is the evaluation process. After the showing we may provide potential renters with an application form to rent the property. Upon receiving the application we review notes taken during the screening and the showing process and compare if details are consistent with the information on the application. When information is inconsistent it often means they are trying to hide something. We look for signs applicants are trying to keep information from you.
Today with the advent of cell phones it’s very easy for applicants to provide contact information for managers/supervisors where the phone number is not the business number.
I have been asked how to verify this situation. Doing your due diligence to ensure the contact person provided is actually the supervisor may require more investigation. We search for the business online and will call the main business number asking to speak with the person provided on the application.
A recent applicant asked me why I didn’t call the number provided for the employer. This immediately advised me they were not forthcoming with the information provided on the application. I had researched the employer online, called the main office number and asked for the person identified on the application. Although I was informed they were the applicants supervisor, I had suspicions they weren’t based on the response provided.
Another tactic used by applicants is pressure of time. This same applicant advised me one day after sending the application in (and on a Saturday) they were approved for another unit but preferred ours and wanted to know when they would be approved. We continued our normal process of checking applicant information, which carried over into the next work week and were able to determine multiple pieces of information provided were inaccurate. Allowing us to select a different applicant who we feel is more appropriate.
Applicants who are good people will provide you with correct and accurate information required to make an informed decision. Applicants who try to alter the process of evaluating an application often are trying to hide something from you, and are probably a tenant which would provide a negative experience.
There are many good tenants who will rent your property, sometimes it takes time to find the right one.
Need assistance with your rental property contact us for an evaluation of your needs.
www.cartrefproperties.com
