What's your favorite site (or method) to find your next tenant?
Investor · Bedford, TX · Member since 2013 · 50 posts · 5 votes
Hello BP'ers!
My wife and I are wrapping up the details on our 2nd SFH here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Thanks to a few meet ups and the fantastic podcasts/webinars on BP, we're "all in" these days for real estate to be a major wealth generating opportunity for us long term.
Thus far, we've been VERY fortunate with our renters, because we spend quite a bit of time vetting them to the very best of our ability. It's been nearly flawless so far. We've used Trulia, Zillow, Hotpads, Postlets, and Craigslist to post the ad, and we follow up with My Smart Move .com for the screening process.
Is there a better site/method to your success?
Thanks in advance for your replies/opinions!
JA
Hey @Jeff Ausdemore,
I would say those are great sites for marketing for renters. I have had great success utilizing the same websites. If you are offering a good product at market rates there will be no issues finding quality tenants. Landlordstation.com also offers pretty great screening. It offers background, criminal, employment, credit, previous addresses and known aliases. As you mentioned before the key to great tenants is a great screening process. If they property is nice then the tenants are more likely to keep it that way. Also, an iron-clad lease agreement to "scare them straight" also helps. Happy Fishing.
Hey @Jeff Ausdemore,
I would say those are great sites for marketing for renters. I have had great success utilizing the same websites. If you are offering a good product at market rates there will be no issues finding quality tenants. Landlordstation.com also offers pretty great screening. It offers background, criminal, employment, credit, previous addresses and known aliases. As you mentioned before the key to great tenants is a great screening process. If they property is nice then the tenants are more likely to keep it that way. Also, an iron-clad lease agreement to "scare them straight" also helps. Happy Fishing.
Thanks James- I appreciate the feedback!
JA
Hello BP'ers!
My wife and I are wrapping up the details on our 2nd SFH here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Thanks to a few meet ups and the fantastic podcasts/webinars on BP, we're "all in" these days for real estate to be a major wealth generating opportunity for us long term.
Thus far, we've been VERY fortunate with our renters, because we spend quite a bit of time vetting them to the very best of our ability. It's been nearly flawless so far. We've used Trulia, Zillow, Hotpads, Postlets, and Craigslist to post the ad, and we follow up with My Smart Move .com for the screening process.
Is there a better site/method to your success?
Thanks in advance for your replies/opinions!
JA
Hello Jeff,
It seems you are already doing a great job! Those sites you named are great places to post ads for renters. I use them all of the time in my own work. Many times you come back with great tenants, and sometimes, not so great tenants. As long as you trust the site you are using for vetting, I am sure you are making the right moves.
Some helpful things I like to think of are:
Have them sign an authorization form, which allows you to look up their credit report and do a background check. Never simply look at a credit SCORE, but make sure you look at the whole REPORT. Someone could have a good score, but owe a lot of money on collections. (I know, but it happens)
Analyze their credit report and if you feel comfortable, do a background check and make sure their criminal history checks out.
Another key factor is employment history. Make sure they have a job of course! You also want to make sure they have had the job for more than a few days. Remember their ability to keep their job (or have a steady income) will directly effect their ability to pay the rent.
We always have them submit pay-stubs. 2 - 3 most recently ones give us the information we need. You want to use that information to check to make sure they have enough money to pay their bills, including the rent. We don't normally ask for a license until they are signing documents, but that might be different depending on your state.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Hello BP'ers!
My wife and I are wrapping up the details on our 2nd SFH here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Thanks to a few meet ups and the fantastic podcasts/webinars on BP, we're "all in" these days for real estate to be a major wealth generating opportunity for us long term.
Thus far, we've been VERY fortunate with our renters, because we spend quite a bit of time vetting them to the very best of our ability. It's been nearly flawless so far. We've used Trulia, Zillow, Hotpads, Postlets, and Craigslist to post the ad, and we follow up with My Smart Move .com for the screening process.
Is there a better site/method to your success?
Thanks in advance for your replies/opinions!
JA
Hello Jeff,
It seems you are already doing a great job! Those sites you named are great places to post ads for renters. I use them all of the time in my own work. Many times you come back with great tenants, and sometimes, not so great tenants. As long as you trust the site you are using for vetting, I am sure you are making the right moves.
Some helpful things I like to think of are:
Have them sign an authorization form, which allows you to look up their credit report and do a background check. Never simply look at a credit SCORE, but make sure you look at the whole REPORT. Someone could have a good score, but owe a lot of money on collections. (I know, but it happens)
Analyze their credit report and if you feel comfortable, do a background check and make sure their criminal history checks out.
Another key factor is employment history. Make sure they have a job of course! You also want to make sure they have had the job for more than a few days. Remember their ability to keep their job (or have a steady income) will directly effect their ability to pay the rent.
We always have them submit pay-stubs. 2 - 3 most recently ones give us the information we need. You want to use that information to check to make sure they have enough money to pay their bills, including the rent. We don't normally ask for a license until they are signing documents, but that might be different depending on your state.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Great stuff, Tom- thank you very much!
JA
Hello BP'ers!
My wife and I are wrapping up the details on our 2nd SFH here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Thanks to a few meet ups and the fantastic podcasts/webinars on BP, we're "all in" these days for real estate to be a major wealth generating opportunity for us long term.
Thus far, we've been VERY fortunate with our renters, because we spend quite a bit of time vetting them to the very best of our ability. It's been nearly flawless so far. We've used Trulia, Zillow, Hotpads, Postlets, and Craigslist to post the ad, and we follow up with My Smart Move .com for the screening process.
Is there a better site/method to your success?
Thanks in advance for your replies/opinions!
JA
Hello Jeff,
It seems you are already doing a great job! Those sites you named are great places to post ads for renters. I use them all of the time in my own work. Many times you come back with great tenants, and sometimes, not so great tenants. As long as you trust the site you are using for vetting, I am sure you are making the right moves.
Some helpful things I like to think of are:
Have them sign an authorization form, which allows you to look up their credit report and do a background check. Never simply look at a credit SCORE, but make sure you look at the whole REPORT. Someone could have a good score, but owe a lot of money on collections. (I know, but it happens)
Analyze their credit report and if you feel comfortable, do a background check and make sure their criminal history checks out.
Another key factor is employment history. Make sure they have a job of course! You also want to make sure they have had the job for more than a few days. Remember their ability to keep their job (or have a steady income) will directly effect their ability to pay the rent.
We always have them submit pay-stubs. 2 - 3 most recently ones give us the information we need. You want to use that information to check to make sure they have enough money to pay their bills, including the rent. We don't normally ask for a license until they are signing documents, but that might be different depending on your state.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Great stuff, Tom- thank you very much!
JA
I'm happy I could help, Jeff. Please let me know if you have any questions!