Low Income Housing Information
Importance of Renter's Insurance
Landlord Resources
There are many great free forms to use and some excellent screening tips that will help you improve the quality of your renters. Every landlord knows you need a great application, rental agreement and credit check form so that you are protected as you go through the steps of finding and signing a new renter.
If it should come to it, you also need to make sure you understand the entire eviction process. There are many legal steps you need to go through if you have a tenant that is not paying their rent. It's not as simple as kicking the people out of the apartment, generally you need to serve a 30 day and/or a 3 day notice of eviction. The final step for many states is going down to the courthouse and scheduling a time for the sheriff to show up and evict the tenants. Make sure you follow all the rules or you could actually get sued by your tenants for wrongful eviction!
If you are looking for some great tips to screen tenants, here are a few:
#1 Typically you will engage with your prospective tenant for the first time over the phone. Take notes of your conversation an jot down the following: Name, reasons for moving, phone #, pets, references, smoking requested? Try to get a feel for your tenant in the conversation as this is a great time to do some screening before you decide to actually show the property.
#2 Size up the person you may rent to during an in-person visit to the apartment. Does the individual act courteous and respectful? Do they complain about missing certain amenities? Are they smoking in your presence? Do they have reliable public transportation?
#3 Make your possible future renter fill out a rental application. Does the tenant completely fill out the report? Do they omit certain important information? Make sure to run a credit report on the applicant to see what their credit history looks like.
#4 If you have decided on a renter, arrange for a time to meet the renter at the property. Make sure to collect the first and last month's deposit along with any security deposit. If you have a larger security deposit for pets, you also need to make sure to collect that at this time as well.
If it should come to it, you also need to make sure you understand the entire eviction process. There are many legal steps you need to go through if you have a tenant that is not paying their rent. It's not as simple as kicking the people out of the apartment, generally you need to serve a 30 day and/or a 3 day notice of eviction. The final step for many states is going down to the courthouse and scheduling a time for the sheriff to show up and evict the tenants. Make sure you follow all the rules or you could actually get sued by your tenants for wrongful eviction!
If you are looking for some great tips to screen tenants, here are a few:
#1 Typically you will engage with your prospective tenant for the first time over the phone. Take notes of your conversation an jot down the following: Name, reasons for moving, phone #, pets, references, smoking requested? Try to get a feel for your tenant in the conversation as this is a great time to do some screening before you decide to actually show the property.
#2 Size up the person you may rent to during an in-person visit to the apartment. Does the individual act courteous and respectful? Do they complain about missing certain amenities? Are they smoking in your presence? Do they have reliable public transportation?
#3 Make your possible future renter fill out a rental application. Does the tenant completely fill out the report? Do they omit certain important information? Make sure to run a credit report on the applicant to see what their credit history looks like.
#4 If you have decided on a renter, arrange for a time to meet the renter at the property. Make sure to collect the first and last month's deposit along with any security deposit. If you have a larger security deposit for pets, you also need to make sure to collect that at this time as well.
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