Today we’d like to talk to you a little bit about how to screen a tenant. Screening a tenant is more art than science, but there are a couple of things you have to do.
Ask the right questions. This means you have to know how much income the tenant makes. We require a tenant to make three times the rent. You want to make sure they can pay the rent 12 times in a row on time, not just the first month.
Then, ask if the tenant has ever been charged with a crime. Ask if the tenant has ever been evicted, or if they have ever been in a situation where they have filed a lawsuit against a landlord. You want to know this information so you can evaluate the tenant. If you get a “yes” response, find out why that action was taken because it’s important to know the reason.
The next thing you need to do in order to screen a tenant properly is to verify the information. Ask for proof of the income. These are pretty basic things that are very important. Look at the address of the property where the tenants say they used to live. See if their information is correct.
As I said it’s more art than science. Take all of that information, evaluate it and think about what kind of tenant this person is How to Screen a Tenant in Coral Springsgoing to be. He may not have been a tenant last year because maybe he owned a house. This may be his first time renting. Or maybe he was a 10 year tenant, in which case you want to know what kind of tenant he was over that time. You want to put together a reasonable picture of who this person is going to be before you give him the keys.
There is no crystal ball for how to pick the right tenant. It’s more art than science and experience comes into play as a very important factor when you are screening a tenant. If you need help screening a tenant, or you have questions about our process, please contact us at Florida Management & Consulting Group.
Military: David Harper is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel. As a Lieutenant he served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War (1968-1969) where he was a Casualty Staging Officer ( Aeromedical Evacuation). He was tasked with moving wounded Soldiers and Marines from Vietnam to various military hospitals in the theatre and eventually Stateside. After serving in several Air Force Reserve Units he was “called up” to serve in Desert Shield/Desert Storm (1990-1991) Where he was Chief Planner on the Central Command Staff for the Aeromedical Evacuation of all US Casualties during the pre-invasion and post-invasion phases. He retired from the Air Force Reserve in 1993. Currently he is the President of the Broward County Chapter of the Military Officer’s Association of America.
South Florida Property Manager Roger Schalk is a member of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM), and the Florida Association of Property Managers (FARPM). A real estate professional for 18 years he has spent his entire professional career managing and developing company’s and their employees in customer facing roles and has successfully established himself in Property Management.