How to interview a potential tenant

When trying to rent out a property to a potential tenant, it is very important that you get to know them and that you set their expectations for renting from you and what you expect out of the relationship. It is not always easy to gauge how a person lives or behaves behind closed doors, but these steps will help you to weed out a lot of unqualified potential tenants.

Before you rent your property or even put it up for lease, you need to be sure that you know who you want to rent to, and what you expect from your tenants. Do a search online to try and find some tenant questionnaires, or tenant background check forms to get an idea for the general items you should be asking.

Once you have taken a look at some of the available questionnaires for tenants, make a list of questions that you want to ask your potential tenant and bring it with you during your tenant interviews and unit showings. Be sure to cover questions like: 1) Full Name - including first, middle, and last names 2) Phone numbers you can reach them at - cell phone, home phone, and business phone number. 3) The potential tenants reason for moving 4) Ask them when they are looking to move into a new 5) The number of people they live with now, and the number they intend on living with. 6) Ask them if they have children and their ages. 7) Ask them if they have any pets 8) Ask them if they smoke 9) Let them know that they will be required to fill out your credit background check and that it is standard practice. If they refuse or are hesitant, you do not want to rent to them. 10)Ask them to provide you with Landlord References, names and phone numbers. Be sure to follow up on these immediately, as they could be fake.

Also, feel free to ask about any other information that you know would make the tenant undesirable to you. Serious applicants want to make a good impression on you and will be happy to answer any questions. You want to avoid applicants that refuse to answer your questions.

Aside from your phone interview with your potential tenant, a lot can be determined upon your first meeting with the tenant in person. There are a number of factors to look for to help you pre-screen them and determine if you want to rent to them. Here are some of the most common things to look for:

1. The general appearance of a person and how they maintain themselves can hint at what kind of home they keep. In general, do they look neat and clean? How do they carry themselves? Do they look like they would care for your property? 2. Does this prospective tenant have manners and behave respectfully? Do they have indications of being difficult to deal with in the future? Did the prospect wipe his or her feet when stepping into the house? Did the prospect walk into the rental while smoking? You can learn a lot about people even before speaking to them. Sometimes it helps to pay attention to details. I often look back at my first meetings with tenants, and 9 times out of 10 - they all turned out to be the type of people that I thought they would be just based on their first impressions alone. 3. Note how the potential tenants feel about the property, and also note if they criticize your property. Are they pointing out legitimate concerns or they looking for a way to “negotiate” a lower price? Are they demanding too much, are they unrealistic, and do they seem difficult to work with? 4. Does the Prospective tenant look serious about the property and their questions posed to you. Are they prepared to fill out an application and pay the fee that is associated with it? Are they willing to provide you with the security deposit you are requesting?

If they make it this far, they may be a pretty good candidate to rent to. Ask them to fill out your rental application and your credit/background check form. If they refuse, thank them for their time and get rid of them. If they fill out all of your requested information, go ahead and run a credit check on them.