In part one of our "tips to becoming a better landlord in Central Florida" series we talked about the nitty gritty details to getting an investment property move-in-ready in order to find the right tenant. Now that you’ve got the home primed and ready for showing to the hordes of people looking to rent, you’ll need to qualify the prospective Tenant.
There are numerous programs out there that will help you in doing a check of your prospective Tenant. When weighing your options, be sure to let the firm handling the background/credit check know your criteria. For the background check, it will be your decision to determine what you’re willing to accept and decline. Is an unpaid parking ticket okay? How about a DUI? These are ultimately decisions that you are going to have to make. Are you looking for a certain credit score? Keep in mind that if you are looking for that perfect score, it’s not likely to happen. Most people these days are recovering from the market crash that happened a few years back and are still trying to rebuild their credit scores and history back up. A little flexibility on your part might be needed now and perhaps not so much a few more years down the line.
Sounds like a lot of work, right? This is probably where people might want to cut corners and ignore running a background/credit check because the prospective Tenant looks like they just stepped out of a Ralph Lauren ad campaign. Do NOT do this. Maybe you didn’t catch that…do NOT bypass the background/credit check. Running this report not only ensures you’re not renting to the law enforcement’s “MOST WANTED” fugitive but the credit report will let you know whether the Renter has been prompt in paying for that Louis man-bag he was sporting when he showed up at your rental home.
In addition to the background check, it is always a good idea to verify where the Tenant previously lived, where they currently work, and how long they’ve been at both places. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure because Tenant stability bodes well for a happier future relationship.
If this is more than you’re ready to tackle, a local Realtor® should be able to help you either qualify a Tenant for the rental home or manage the property on your behalf. Be sure they walk you through the steps and explain the process to you because you should always be aware of how your property is being managed now that THE Tenant has been found that meets your requirements.
We've got one more part in this series for those of you looking to becoming better landlords in Central Florida, where we will talk about the actions you can take after you've found the perfect Tenant in order to keep them in your investment property for as long as possible, which is always the best situation for everyone.
About the author, Christy Lim: Christy graduated with a Juris Doctor from Florida Coastal School of Law. Her areas of focus include residential and commercial real estate transactions, immigration and foreign investments and visas, and contract negotiations and alternative dispute resolution. Having over six years of real estate experience in Florida and having managed commercial properties for over fifteen years, throughout California, Florida and Texas, Christy brings forth a broad and diverse understanding of the complexities associated with the legal and real estate fields. Like what you read? Read another post by Christy, FAQs on Property Investment in Central Florida.
