Some say screening is the most important part! Doesn’t matter if you’ve got the prettiest rental in your market if you move in terrible tenants.
So to make sure you get the best tenants, you want to establish a really clear list of rental criteria. What’s your minimum acceptable credit score? Will you allow smoking indoors, or pets? Minimum monthly income?
You can also do additional things, like check out applicants’ social profiles or speak to their past landlords, but make sure that you’re doing those things for every applicant. This is the stage where it’s most likely that you’ll discriminate, even if you don’t do it consciously, so we recommend setting your criteria and then moving in the first applicant that checks all your boxes.
If you have two or more applicants who meet all your criteria then 1) congrats! and 2) we still recommend to move in the first one who came in. That’s the best way to completely avoid any possibility of discrimination. You’re not looking for a new best friend, you’re looking for a tenant who will pay on time and keep your property in good shape.
Screening reports are one of TurboTenant’s core features, and we use TransUnion data to show you credit score, eviction history, and criminal history (where allowed).
We recently made a webinar that talks more about screening: https://turbocommunity.wpenginepowered.com/education/webinars/tenant-screening-in-2024/
turbocommunity.wpenginepowered.com
Tenant Screening in 2024
Finding a great tenant is a science. This webinar breaks down the best practices landlords should use to find tenants who pay rent on time.
Issues with payment are the worst! Glad it worked out for four years, but I know how big a hassle it can be to do this dance every month.
Venmo is super convenient, but it’s not awesome for rent payments. I wrote a blog on the issues with Venmo, Zelle, and other similar payment apps.
TurboTenant’s rent collection features are built to avoid a lot of the headaches you’re describing. You can set due dates, automated late fees, and your tenant can automate their payments so no one has to rely on their memory each month. Better yet, we send out rent receipts so you both know the rent was paid!
Wooo congrats! Love to hear successes.
So much of landlording depends on your tenant, and hopefully you’ve got great ones. But with them next door, you should draw some boundaries and make sure your lease covers stuff like noise complaints, what to do with dog waste, and how to handle parking.
The biggest thing is to make sure you and your tenants are communicating clearly with one another! I hope it continues to go swimmingly for you.
Glad you’re here, Joyce! Any landlord topics in particular you’re interested in?
Yep, that’s pretty much where I’m at – providing the equipment just feels like taking on too much risk! Thanks for the perspective, good to hear from an insurance-minded investor.
Thanks for joining us, Taisha!
So true! And the market here in Colorado is still bonkers.
I hear Ohio’s a nice place to invest.
