Finding a good tenant is easier said than done. You will usually get many applicants for the vacant unit but you need to look for a tenant with compatible qualities. The problem with selecting the wrong client is that they may not look after the unit properly contributing to a lot of damage that you will have to repair. And some tenants refuse to pay rent or can engage in criminal behaviour so you will have to go through the messy process of eviction.
You need to make sure that all tenants are screened before they are selected. This is one of the services provided by residential property managers. To ensure the safety of your property and the neighbourhood, you need to check the criminal record of prospective tenants. There are online background checks that can be carried out which will give you an idea if the tenant is a good fit for the building or not. However, this doesn’t mean refusing anybody that has a criminal past.
You have to consider it case-by-case basis looking at the severity of the criminal conduct, when this took place, nature of crime and the rehabilitative efforts undertaken by the potential tenant. So if you have an applicant that has a criminal history, you need to ask a few questions such as how many offences have taken place, whether the individual was convicted, the nature and severity of the offence etc. You can also consider if the nature of the crime committed can put the other tenants in the building or put your rental property at risk.
One of the biggest problems that landlords are facing is tenants that will not pay rent. This will in turn have a negative impact on how you manage your bills, expenses and mortgage payments. To ensure that you select tenants that will not delay or refuse to pay rent, you can check their credit history. This gives you an idea of how responsible the tenant is with their money and helps you gauge if they can pay on time. It is very important to select a quality tenant that will not lose you money. So if the tenant is not paying rent on time all the time, you will lose money and this can lead to an eviction.
To prevent having to carry out an eviction, you need to check the rental history of the tenant. You can ask them to provide you with a list of homes they have lived in along with the landlords for the properties. This will give you an opportunity to gain some insight into the rental behaviour of the tenant in the past such as if they pay rent on time and if they maintain the property in good condition. You can also ask about the level of communication and whether they are able to coexist with their neighbours without causing trouble. By running an eviction check on the tenant, you can obtain court records on failing to pay rent, warrants of eviction etc.