Posts about Tenants

Every landlord wants a unicorn renter who pays on time, takes care of the place, and maybe even shovels the snow without being asked. But before you can get more leads , you’ve got to get through the tenant pre-qualifying process—a place many landlords burn more time and energy than necessary.

It’s been reported that as little as 10% of potential tenants that are actually qualified for a property they’re interested in will show up to their viewing appointment and will submit a complete and accurate application. The odds are stacked against property managers right from the start. This means that thorough tenant screening is critical to finding quality tenants.

The typical rental showings and leasing process is riddled with pain points for potential tenants and property managers alike. But it doesn’t have to be. There are solutions to address the usual pitfalls that occur during this stage of the rental process. Let’s start with a look at the top pain points for tenants, as reported by AM Digital, and how they can be addressed to improve the renter experience.

As a property manager or rental property owner, you probably spend a lot of time qualifying each prospective tenant. You need to make sure they’re able to pay rent, that they don’t have a criminal background or other red flags (like poor credit), and that they’re a good fit on variables like pet ownership or smoking. Screening tenants is a challenge, and the stakes are high—poor screening could leave you facing a costly eviction.

When you get a lot of poor quality tenant leads, you’re not just giving yourself more work in having to sift through them all to find a good one. You’re also opening the door of opportunity for your competitors to get to the high quality tenant leads before you can. That’s a risk that a property manager can’t afford to take in today’s tight rental market.

Rental turnover costs are a serious challenge for property managers and brokers, especially when the turnover rate is high. According to the National Apartment Association, the average tenant turnover rate is around 40%. So that means if you’re managing 200 units, then 80 units will turnover each year. Those add up, meaning you’ll be turning 6-7 units every month. And the cost of each of those 80 turnovers chips away at the bottom line of your rental income.

When you add up your tenant vacancy costs, you’re likely thinking of lost rental income, which is easy to quantify -- you know exactly how much potential revenue you’re missing. You probably also automatically count in any mortgage payments or HOA fees that you’ll need to continue to pay even though the property isn’t earning any income. Those are hard costs that are easy to see.