Evicting a tenant is a costly and time consuming process that most landlords would rather avoid. That’s why it is important to screen your prospective tenants carefully before handing over the keys.
Often, properties where the owner acts as landlord are targeted by bad tenants since their financial history and or previous rental history is less likely to be investigated than if they approached a property managed by a property manager. An experienced property management company will notice red flags which might escape the notice of the owner, and will conduct the research necessary to minimize the risk that you’ll receive a bad or wrong tenant.
This was made evident when we were asked by some owners to also advertise their vacant properties on Gumtree. Whilst we were receiving a huge volume of enquiries from the website the minute the prospective tenants realised we were an agency and not a private owner, they would not book in to view the property or not respond further to our phone calls. This immediately raised alarm bells. Why lose interest if you know an agent is involved? We have had first hand experience where tenants have actually told us, that they will just find a property through Gumtree, as they know the owner will not check their history. So warnings, to be cautious is using this medium for sourcing tenants.
While there are number of stand alone tenants screening services as well as bad tenant databases to check against, the reality is that it takes experience to detect the cues that accompany tenants who may look good initially but turn out to be trouble in the long run.
No landlord or Property Manager ever wants a bad tenant. Applicants will always put their best foot forward and the more they have to hide the greater lengths they will go to hide facts that would eliminate them from consideration.
So, what methods do we use to screen tenants?
The more comprehensive the better.
- We contact former landlords,
- Verify income and employment,
- Application information is verified for authenticity,
- Personal references contacted,
- Public notice (bankruptcy, eviction) search run, etc.
There are so many tricks of the trade in this area. At Radi Estates we do all our tenant screening ourselves and find that sometimes the best way to get a vibe for a tenant is by meeting them at the property face to face.
We will always give you our honest opinion and never try to push you to lease the property to anyone. After all a bad tenant is more work for not only you as the owner but also for us as the agent.
If you need assistance locating a suitable tenant for your property, please contact Annalisa on 08 9275 2945 or email management@radiestates.com