As a landlord, you want your property to be occupied by the best tenant possible. For this to happen, you need to be upfront about all of your expectations, rules, and leasing criteria with all potential tenants. You also need to prepare a reliable screening test that can help you rule out tenants that won’t work for your property. The best way to do that is to prepare pertinently and revealing questions for potential tenants.
Read on to find out six brilliant questions to ask a potential tenant that can help you find a reliable occupant for your property!
6 Questions for Potential Tenants
Here are six questions to ask a potential tenant:
1. What Date Would You Like to Move in?
It’s one of the finest tenant screening questions as it helps you figure out if you and your potential tenant are on the same timeline or not. For instance, if you want to rent your property right away, but the tenant doesn’t want to move in for another two months, you can start looking for other tenants. It will save time for both of you.
2. Do You Have Any Pets?
Even though there are many pros of opting for tenants with pets, some landlords have a strict no-pets policy. If you have such a policy, it’s best if you ask a potential tenant whether they have any pets or not. It will certainly help you narrow down your tenant pool. Even if you allow pets but have certain rules and restrictions, asking this question will help you lay the ground rules for a potential tenant.
3. How Long Did You Live in Your Last and Current Home?
Inquiring about the duration of a potential renter’s past and current residencies is a smart way to gauge whether a tenant prefers stability or if they like changing apartments regularly. If a tenant doesn’t stay in one place for too long, chances are they will likely do the same with your property, and you will have to look for a new tenant again.
4. What Is the Reason Behind Your Move?
Another pertinent question to ask a potential tenant is why they decided to move from their last rental. It will help you gauge any past problems, such as evictions or early lease termination. Try not to take an applicant’s answer at face value and perform a thorough reference check to ensure that they are safe and responsible tenants. On the other hand, if an applicant was evicted from their last home, this question will give them the opportunity to put forth their side of things and explain the eviction.
5. How Many People Will Live in the Property?
It’s an excellent way to ensure that your property won’t be overcrowded. Moreover, Federal occupancy standards allow only two people per bedroom. You certainly don’t want to exceed that limit. It will lead to a whole host of problems, such as noise pollution, limited capacity, etc. After all, five to six people moving into a single-bedroom apartment might not be a great idea.
6. What Is Your Monthly Income?
Ideally, your tenant’s monthly income should be three times the rent of your property. Asking this question will help you figure out if a potential tenant will be able to pay their rent on time or if they will make late payments.
The Bottom Line
In today’s world, you need to have a proper tenant screening method to ensure that you give your property to a responsible tenant. You can ask the aforementioned questions to a potential tenant to narrow down your tenant pool and find a tenant whom you can trust.
