Screening Tips for Landlords of Temecula

CA Rentals

Having good tenants has an effect on the returns on your property. In a different article, we gave you tips on how to find the best tenants. Part of it is establishing an effective screening process which Temecula CA property management companies already have. But if you are a landlord who wants to know how to screen applicants for your Temecula CA rental, the following tips might just be what you’re looking for.

1. Check what the law saysHaving a screening procedure and a set of standards for tenants does not mean you are exempted from following the Federal Fair Housing Act. To summarize, this law means you are not supposed to discriminate based on disability, race or color, familial status, sex, religion, and national origin. Be careful with setting your standards as you don’t want to get in trouble with the law.

2. Have applicants sign an application formIt is important to prepare a form that would ask about the applicant’s basic biographical information, employment history, rental history, vehicle information, references and other details you may need to verify. If you are working with a Temecula CA property manager, you can take this task off of your shoulders.

3. Go over their credit history and credit scoreIt might be rare that you find a prospective tenant who has exemplary credit records. The goal of checking is not to grant the approval only to those with good credit scores, although that would be ideal. What you need to have is a limit, a set allowable bar. After all, you wouldn’t want to lose a good tenant just because you were so strict with a single measurement.

4. Find out about their tenancy historySometimes, the rental history speaks so much more than all the other documents you would ask. Knowing how tenants treated their previous homes and hearing straight from a previous landlord how good they were as tenants are very valuable qualitative information. Talk to previous landlords and make that a necessary part of your screening.

5. Check for criminal recordsAlthough some states, including California, prohibit discrimination based on certain criminal records, a landlord should still find time to check these things. Often you will only need their names and birthdays and since these are public records, it is okay to check them. However, you have to be careful with using this as a ground for not accepting a tenant. In any case, an expert Temecula CA property manager should be able to help you with this very time consuming task.

6. Make sure they have a stable source of incomeEmployment history and their current employment information are your main data points. Many use this equation as indicator that a tenant won’t have any problems paying their rents: Their monthly income must be three times their supposed monthly rent. Having a direct contact person in the employer’s side can help make this task a lot easier.

Screening tenants can’t be done in one sitting, and certainly can’t be done by someone without time. Remember that apart from all of these checks, having a personal interview is also advisable before you totally approve an application. Have a Temecula CA property manager take care of these things for you if you want it done efficiently and without taking up much of your time.

Contact an expert Temecula CA property manager now and you are sure to have an effective tenant search. Call me, Sidney Kutchuck, today at 951-217-6745 or send an email at sidney@realtywrks.com or visit the Realty Works website at realtywrks.com