Do you own investment property in Kansas City? If so, you know that you need to find great tenants to be successful! Tenant retention is one of the most important factors in owning a successful rental property. If you want to find great tenants for your Kansas City property, we will show you how in our latest post!
What Makes A Good Tenant?
Most landlords are looking for long-term tenants who will pay rent on time, without causing disturbances or damages to the property. Good tenants are looking for a home for themselves and their family, nor just a temporary roof over their heads. Ideally, you are looking for people who want to stay awhile and put down some roots.
Background Check
You need to do a background check on all prospective tenants, no matter how well dressed or polite they are. You never know what is lurking in someone’s past. You don’t want to rent to someone with a history of evictions or missed payments. There are many sites online that can run a comprehensive background check in only a matter of minutes. You will have some cost for these services upfront, but the amount of money and frustration you will save is priceless. Also, consider doing an old-fashioned Google search. You can quickly find out a lot about a person simply by perusing their social media profiles.
References
Many times landlords will fail to contact more than one reference for a prospective tenant. It is important you speak to all the references provided. The more you can find out about the person wanting to live in your house, the better! How was their communication? Did they pay on time? Did they cause any damage or extensive clean-up upon moving? Were there ever any complaints filed against them? Make sure the references are legit and not a friend of the prospective tenant. Ask the right questions of the prospective tenant’s previous landlords in order to get a true idea of the tenant and their true behavior.
Job History
The person moving into your house needs to be able to pay rent each month. This means a stable history of employment of self-employed income. If you see someone has bounced around to many positions, having the consistent cash-flow to make rent might be more difficult for them.
Communication
Communication with your tenant should be light and easy. It makes thing much more pleasant when you can be friends with your tenant, with less stiffness and formality. While you don’t want them to feel they can take advantage of you, you also want to be open enough that they will reach out to you right away if there is an issue. You will want to make sure they can easily get ahold of you if there is a problem and vice versa. Keep communication at the forefront. Reach out to your tenant to make sure all is well if you haven’t heard from them in a while.
Your End of The Deal
In order to attract great tenants, you need to be a good landlord. This means taking care of the property and being proactive with upgrades and repairs as needed. They should always feel as if they are at home… not renting the home of someone else. Be respectful of their time and their space, and certainly don’t make any unannounced visits. Don’t give your tenants any reason to want to leave, and you will secure the long-term, high-quality tenants you have been looking for.