First aparment showing tomorow! Need some help preparing
I know most of you seasoned landlords probably despise showings but I have my first one tomorrow and I'm pretty excited. After posting an ad on Postlets I have scheduled 10 people to come see the house. I am doing this in two group showings one tomorrow and one on Saturday.
First question is any general advice for these kinds of things? I have been re-reading the article Brandon Turner wrote on step by step process to rent a house. Any thing I need to say during the showing?
Second question is how do you typically prescreen on the phone? For everyone that has been calling I reiterated that I require "minimum 600 credit score, gross monthly income 3 times the rent, references required, and credit/background check required" I then ask if any of those things are a problem and without hesitation everyone says "no it wont be a problem". There is no way that these people meet all these requirements and tips on how to screen out the unqualified people?
Third question what order does the the process go in? I am thinking that first I show them around the house get a feel of where they are at and then give them the application if they are interested? If they want to apply I would also need to collect a check from them to pay for the SmartMove credit/background check. Do I ask for a check on the spot? What if I get a whole bunch of applicants and its hard to chose which one? Or vice versa I get a bunch of applicants and none of them are good? I would sorta feel bad if someone applied and they lost their application fee because I chose someone else that had a slightly better credit score or something.
Sorry if these questions sound silly or I am over thinking things I just want to be prepared so I can hit the ground running tomorow!