• Check Employment / Income History:
Don’t just check current employment and income, go beyond! It is advisable to go back some time in the past to know more about the tenant you are qualifying, how far? Go back at least 3-5 years for ensuring tenant has had stable employment and income over the years. If tenant has been in the same or just couple of jobs for last 3-5 years, it is a sign that tenant has solid employment record. This is what the best property rental management companies do to ensure that only the best tenant occupies your house.
Similarly, if you see prospective tenant has had too many job changes or employment gaps, it would sure be a red flag. Note; employment gaps don’t necessarily immediately mean tenant should be rejected outright, it’s something you as a landlord want to dig deeper to understand if it was for good reason or not.
Credit bureaus can also verify the timeliness of rents paid to past landlords as well as if there were any bankruptcies declared by the tenant. This is frequently used by professional rental management companies and property management agents in Calgary.
. Understand The Credit Scores;
Personal credit scores, in Canada range from 300 for young professionals starting to build their credit to all the way up to 900 points, which is the best score. Based on a leading credit company, 650 is the magic middle number that take as a benchmark average. A score above 650 will likely qualify you for a standard loan while a score under 650 will likely bring difficulty in receiving new credit.
• Check Tenancy History:
As for the employment and income you would want to go back some time in the past to know if the tenant in question has had good record as a renter. Again you should look for at least 3-5 years of rental history and then contact past landlords to verify if there were any reported issues or evictions during past tenancy for cause. A steady rental history or less frequent changes in tenancy is something you want to see. At the same time if you have a tenant with frequent changes in rental address should get you to look deeper and contact the landlords for any issues, major complaints or evictions for failing to meet lease terms.
Many rental property owners sometime overlook this part due to lack of awareness and expertise only to find recurring delays in rent payment by the tenants. For professional property managers and property management companies this part of the routine and one of the check points used.
• Be Fair and Professional:
Take care to make sure you treat all tenants equally in line with applicable fair housing laws. The law prohibits many kinds of distinctions that landlords used to make in selecting tenants. Fair housing laws forbid discrimination on the basis of race and religion and go far beyond.
• Seek Help where needed:
If you are busy entrepreneur with multiple rental properties, you may also want to consider hiring a professional property management company or a rental management professional to assist you with many of the mundane tasks involved in the whole process of leasing and maintenance of rental properties.
Landlord-Tenant relationship is one of those uneasy relationships where differences between tenant and landlord are seldom pleasant. However you can avoid that by sharpening your focus to put in place a thorough screening process to weed out potentially problem tenants from the beginning. Get in touch with our property management professionals for further assistance.