What to Ask Previous Landlords for Rental Reference Checks?
Today there are more tenants than properties, especially in the cities and popular areas for people to have a rental home. Every potential tenant is important in today’s tight rental market. As a matter of fact, having a high tenant turnover rate may impact negatively on your annual earnings, which is why it is of the utmost importance to successfully find renters. Unfortunately, not every potential tenant who wishes to view your rental property will fit the requirements. Furthermore, having a terrible renter brings far more troubles than having a vacant property. If a landlord doesn’t examine a tenant’s references, they’ll waste time and money. Even if a candidate has stellar credentials, it doesn’t mean they’re a safe bet. In order to avoid potentially difficult tenants, you should ask questions that are particular to their prior landlords.
Landlords should be careful to ask prospective tenants’ former landlords a number of pertinent questions.
1. When did the tenant’s lease start and finish?
2. How much lease did the renter pay?
3. Was the tenant’s rent paid on time?
4. How effectively did the tenant maintain the premises?
5. Would you re-rent to the tenant?
6. Did the occupant share a residence with anybody else?
7. Did the renter have any pets?
8. What caused the renter to leave?
9. Was the renter a pleasant neighbour?
10. How did the renter engage with you?
When looking to fill a vacancy in your rental property, among the most essential steps you need to do is get in touch with the former landlords of the potential renter. Nevertheless, it may not provide you a complete picture of the tenant’s character if you rely just on feedback from the existing landlord. Yet, landlords who’re doing a reference check with prior landlords must ensure that they do a masterful process in their questioning. That’s because the information that they learn about application can disclose a great deal more about how they could act than an employment record checking or hearing what other references have to share.
Make use of these examples as a springboard for your own inquiry; develop investigations that will help you make an informed choice about your property.
