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How to Screen Tenants

At MartelTurnkey, our turnkey rental properties are sold with a lease and tenant in place, vetted by a local, professional property management company. But eventually that tenant may move on, and you’ll need to fill the vacancy. With a property management company running your turnkey rental, you don’t have to lift a finger. Even so, if you’re becoming a landlord, you’ll want to understand what goes into the process and why the screening process is so important. Following is some information about both the need for tenant screening and how to conduct the process. This will give you insight into the extreme value of a quality property manager like those that MartelTurnkey works with.

 

Why Do Tenant Screening?

 

The tenant directly impacts your landlord experience whether or not you plan to hire a property manager for your rental property. Tenants do more than just pay rent. You can regard tenants as stewards in many ways. In fact, property managers want great tenants for you, as well. Think about it. When there’s a vacancy, the property manager doesn’t get paid. They typically make a modest percentage of rates, or a per door flat fee. But if there’s no rent, no money for the property manager. So your interest is the same as the property manager’s interest. They want to get you a good tenant who pays on time and lets them know when something needs attention. 

 

Good tenants take care of your property in your absence and alert you or your property manager to any problems. They change HVAC filters as requested, turn off the outside water main in winter to avoid spigots from freezing and maintain a temperate climate to avoid freezing pipes indoors. They park in designated areas only and preserve civil relations with neighbors.

 

A bad tenant can cause a great many problems for the property owner, including:

 

 – financial strain caused by late and/or missing rent payments

 – neighborhood disputes arising from misbehavior/activity/boundary violations/noise

 – property damage

 – damage to landscaping

 – abuse of furnishings/appliances

 – escalation of problems due to failure to report in a timely manner 

 

When you consider all the ways a quality tenant serves you and all the ways a bad tenant can sour your landlord experience, you gain insight into why tenant screenings are crucial and what you should be looking for in a good tenant.

 

The Goal of a Tenant Screening

 

You want a tenant that is going to consistently pay rent on time, take care of the property, keep in touch with you or your property manager about any problems and not cause disturbances in the neighborhood. To that end, you’re looking for a tenant who can keep a job, understands the workings of a house, is respectful of your investment and who fits well into the culture of the neighborhood. 

 

Tenant Screening Background Checks

 

A traditional tenant screening typically includes a criminal background check and a credit check. 

 

Criminal background checks may cover local, state and federal offenses.

 

Depending on state laws, the criminal background check may reveal if the person has an arrest record, outstanding warrants, citations or even dismissed cases where there was no conviction. This check will also inform you if the applicant is on any kind of official list, such as the registered sex offender list. 

 

A criminal background check tells you if the applicant is or was a criminal. You can then use this as a piece of the puzzle to form your overall picture of the applicant. 

 

The credit check will reveal how well the applicant manages their finances. You can purchase a credit check that gives you just a credit score, or you can get a deeper credit check that gives details about payment histories, charge-offs, bankruptcies, etc. 

 

The criminal background check and credit check are the two most commonly used tenant screening tools used. However, there are less formal tenant screening strategies to consider.

 

Additional Tenant Screening Strategies

 

Keeping in mind the role of the tenant in caring for your property investment and respecting the neighborhood culture, here are some additional screening strategies to consider using in order to ensure a successful tenant fit.

 

Call the Former Landlord(s) – Take a few minutes to call the previous landlord(s) about the applicant’s history there. You can only legally ask certain questions, but those questions are sufficient. You may be able to ask:

 

 – Did the tenant pay the rent on time each month?

 – Did the tenant get their deposit back?

 – What was the rent?

 – Would you rent to them again?

 – Was the tenant responsive to communications?

 – Was there any trouble with the tenancy?

 

View the Applicant’s Car – You can get a pretty good idea of how well your applicant would take care of your property by how well they take care of their car. The car doesn’t have to be a late model, but ideally it’s in good repair and clean. 

 

Consider How They Present Themselves – Did the applicant dress for the interview in an appropriate manner? They don’t need to dress like it’s a job interview, but apparel shouldn’t be at the other extreme, either. This conveys their respect for you and the process.

 

These are all things that your property manager takes care of with MartelTurnkey properties. Our property manager teams vet all tenants for a minimum income that’s three times the rent, are currently employed, and have had no prior convictions or evictions.

 

How Not to Screen

 

It’s unfair and illegal to screen tenants on the basis of sex, race, religious beliefs, physical or mental handicaps, nationality or familial status. Everyone deserves to seek and find appropriate and affordable housing. Never let personal or perceived prejudices cloud your judgment when screening tenants. Doing so not only makes you vulnerable to legal ramifications; it also may prevent you from getting a quality tenant who could have taken excellent care of your turnkey rental property for many years.

 

Think Outside the Box

 

Finally, don’t automatically exclude tenants that don’t fit in the standard box of what you think is the ideal tenant. For example, many people these days don’t have W-2 income. Be willing to accept proof of income from alternative sources like private wealth, Paypal or other “gig” income sources. 

 

Many landlords do quite well with Section 8 tenants. refusing to consider this segment of the population may mean missing out on regular, guaranteed subsidized rental income. 

 

The credit score is helpful but it doesn’t tell the whole story.  Ironically, those with lower scores are more likely to renew leases from year to year. Those with higher scores are more likely to leave to buy their own homes, and you could be looking at more vacancies in between lease terms. 

 

Also, some people have trouble paying credit card debt due to medical or other issues, but they always make sure to pay their rent on time. This is why you should always check with former landlords.

 

Finally, don’t automatically exclude applicants with low hourly pay jobs. A big giant salary isn’t always necessary to live on. If your rent is within their means, an hourly job could work out just fine. It’s more important to calculate the income to rent ratio at either 4:1 or 3:1 to estimate affordability for your rental. 

 

As you can see, it’s crucial to consider everything the prospective tenant is responsible for, and to obtain enough information to get a big picture of their suitability as your future tenant. 

 

But wait!

 

You don’t have to do any of this when you buy a MartelTurnkey rental property with one of our property management teams already in place. Our property management teams take care of all landlord issues, from screening tenants to fixing screens! MartelTurnkey properties are true passive income opportunities. To browse available MartelTurnkey rental properties, click here.

 

 

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Should You Be a Section 8 Landlord? Here are the Pros and the Cons

Section 8 housing has more than a whiff of bad reputation. It calls to mind decrepit slums and unreliable tenants. Why even consider it?

 

Because thousands of landlords swear by the benefits of offering their prized assets as Section 8 housing … and they have a point. As a property owner, subsidized housing offers several attractive benefits.

 

Here are the significant pros — and a few cons — to taking the plunge and becoming a Section 8 landlord.

Pros of Owning Section 8 Rental Housing

Your Rent Payment is Practically Guaranteed

No more chasing down tenants for late rent payments. The rent is paid to you directly from the government housing bureau. As long as the agency remains solvent, your rent should arrive, in full, like clockwork. 

Little or No Vacancy

Forget budgeting for marketing expenses — the housing agency is your marketing pipeline, and it is always full. Subsidized housing is in high demand, with long waiting lists. High-quality Section 8 properties tend to get snapped up quickly. When a Section 8 tenant finds suitable housing, they tend to burrow in and never leave. As such, you can expect very little turnover or loss due to vacancy as a Section 8 landlord. 

Above-Market Rent

The housing office sets the rent your subsidized housing unit is eligible for based on the number of bedrooms. This isn’t always the case, but the subsidized rent you qualify for is often higher than the market rent. Pick your properties correctly, and you could make out like a bandit — not only less vacancy and no skipped rent payments, but a higher rental rate than you would get on the open market.

Well-Behaved Tenants

The stereotype of the destructive Section 8 tenant is far from true. Yes, there are some bad apples, but Section 8 tenants can lose their housing voucher eligibility for disruptive or destructive behavior. Most don’t want to risk it, so they tend to mind their manners and take reasonable care of the property. 

Cons of Owning Section 8 Rental Housing

It Can Take Awhile to Get Approved

While you will have little vacancy once you are on the Section 8 rolls, you might face some front-end vacancy. This is because it can take several weeks or even months to get approved for the Section 8 rolls. Be prepared to carry some costs while you wait.

Annual Inspections

As a Section 8 landlord, you have to submit to annual inspections of the property. This is to make sure that you are keeping the property liveable. With a MartelTurnkey rental, you have a head start with a pristine, renovated property. MartelTurnkey clients are committed to being conscientious landlords, so there’s little to fear from these inspections. 

You Can Only Accept Section 8 Tenants

As a Section 8 landlord, you can only rent to Section 8 tenants. This is little problem for most landlords, though, since the supply of Section 8 tenants usually far exceeds the supply of Section 8 housing. 

Harder to Evict

If you do get a bad tenant, it can be harder to evict due to the housing office bureaucracy. Fortunately, you are still at your liberty to screen tenants for rental and criminal history. You don’t have to accept tenants just because they have a voucher. 

 

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Every MartelTurnkey asset is eligible for Section 8 housing. If you want to take advantage of this lucrative sector of the rental market, call MartelTurnkey today — we have the resources in place to get you started on the right foot!

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Tenant Screening 101

MartelTurnkey clients don’t have to worry about screening tenants, at least not directly. We find the property, renovate it, place a tenant in, and put the rental under property management. Most of our clients never even see their investment property, let alone meet the tenant. Our job is to provide all the resources necessary for them to do that with ease.

 

Still, a rental property is a significant investment. Landlords depend on careful tenant screening to keep the asset in the black. You should have at least some idea of how to screen a tenant properly. 

 

So let’s look at some quick-and-dirty tenant-screening dos and don’ts. If you ever want to change property managers or hire a property manager yourself, you will at least know what to ask them about their tenant-screening process.

 

Do Verify Income

Consistent income is the best predictor of whether or not a tenant will meet his/her rent obligations. Smart landlords and property managers don’t rely on “don’t-ask-don’t-tell” — they take the time to verify exactly what the prospective tenant does for a living. 

 

Verifying employment or self-employment income is the most common hurdle, but some tenants may have dependable benefits, investment income, or annuities. Ask for documentation of everything. When verifying employment, 2-3 years’ history at the same job is ideal; the bare minimum is the last 3-4 pay stubs or income statements.

 

How much income is enough? Three times the rent in pre-tax income is the rule of thumb, but some managers are more stringent, and lower-income properties may benefit from targeting a lower multiple.

Do Check Rental History

So many evictions, slow-payers, and non-payers can be avoided by checking to see if the prospective tenant has been evicted in the past, or whether they were consistently behind on their rent in the past. 

 

People who pay their rent religiously with few or no complaints from their last landlord tend to repeat the same behavior with the next landlord. It’s not a guarantee, however. Job losses and other emergencies can still arise, but the consistent rental payment history is a good sign, and easy to check. 

Do Check Credit

The credit reports and scores compiled by major credit bureaus contain a record of every American’s payment and debt history. 

 

A look at a prospective tenant’s credit score will tell you several important things, including:

 

– Whether or not the prospect has a history of missing payments.

 

– Whether or not the prospect is overburdened with debt, to the point that they might struggle to make the rent even with robust, stable income.

 

Evictions, foreclosures, court judgments, and bankruptcies may also show up on a credit check.

Do Check Criminal Background

You don’t want a tenant with a serious criminal background. Recidivism rates on past offenders are depressingly high. You can’t collect rent from a tenant who has been hauled off to jail — and if the tenant is on probation, it doesn’t take much for them to be back in the same place.

 

Even if the tenant never re-offends, felons have a hard time finding new jobs if they lose them. At the darker end of the spectrum, you don’t want your tenant running a criminal enterprise out of your property. You could actually be held liable.

 

In some neighborhoods and markets, a completely clean criminal record may be hard to come by. However, good property managers at least put policies in place to reject tenants with high-risk criminal backgrounds — e.g. violent offenses, sex crimes, theft and burglary.

Don’t Break the Law

Federal, state and municipal laws apply to tenant-landlord relations. Obviously, you are not allowed to discriminate by race, sex, and family or parental status (although you may be able to restrict larger families by setting occupancy limits). 

 

State and local rules may also apply to how much information you can legally gather from a prospective tenant, as well as how high of an application fee you can charge. Trust me, you don’t want to be sued for abusive tenant screening practices. Do it by the book. 

Don’t Follow Your Heart

Don’t be charmed by a sweet disposition, a pretty face, or a charming story. You’re looking for a tenant, not a spouse. A tenant with a dreadful personality may be a pain in the rear, but overall it doesn’t matter how much you personally like or despise your tenant, as long as the rent is paid on time and the tenant doesn’t cause too many headaches.

Don’t Ignore Your Gut

It’s great to follow a systematic process of tenant screening, but gut instinct also plays a role. A classic example is a tenant who can’t verify their employment. 

 

“This is stupid! I have the money!” Every property manager hears this at some point. But look past any big bank balances — how did the tenant get the money? If it’s dubious, you may want to reconsider.

Don’t Be Swayed By Sob Stories

Many self-managing landlords form too close a relationship with their tenants. They may be swayed by tales of job loss, cruel ex-spouses, medical conditions … a million and a half reasons why the rent is late, and could you please just make another exception? It will be on time next month, cross my heart!

 

You are running a business, not a charity. You don’t have to be a monster, but most tenants don’t realize the difficulty they put their landlords through. Many assume their landlords are rich, and they may use this assumption to justify manipulative behavior. 

 

Bottom line, though — everyone has to pay their rent or risk losing the roof over their head. Keep tenants at an arm’s length, set policies, and be prepared to enforce them — up to and including filing for eviction. 


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Don’t want to bother with any of this? Remember, MartelTurnkey properties come ready-made with the tenant and property manager already in place. You will never have to see the property or the tenant if you don’t want to. All you see are the cash flow checks. Reach out to us today to find out how we do it!