Hi Everyone,
Hope you are all doing great.
One of the most important things you need to consider when you become a real estate investor, if not THE most important thing to consider is how you are going to pick the right tenants. (wow, that was a long sentence!)
When most people first begin investing in real estate, they have no idea what to look for in a tenant and how to select the right tenant.
There are 2 simple rules that you MUST follow when you are selecting tenants for your rental property. If you fail to obey these rules, you could end up in big trouble. When I say big trouble, you name it…
If you chose the wrong tenants you could have:
- Vandalism to your property
- Drug use in your property
- Non payment of rent
- Loud parties held at your property
- Random people moving into your rental property without your permission
- Failure to move out upon eviction
- The list goes on…
That is a scary list, isn’t it!?
Well you know what?
You don’t need to be scared if you do things the right way.
The following 2 rules that you will obey EVERY TIME you are selecting tenants will help you in selecting the right tenants. The rules are…
1) Do Not Settle
Do not settle for the first prospective tenant that comes along. Just because your rental property is vacant does not mean that the first people that come along are the right choice. Don’t feel rushed. It is truly better to have your rental property sit vacant for a few more months than to pick the wrong tenants. If you pick the wrong tenants, because you want to fill your unit, this move will surely cost you more in the long run than if the property was vacant. For example, if you rush the process and pick the wrong tenants, they could move into the house and immediately stop paying your rent. You would then have to go through the eviction process with your local Landlord and Tenant Board. Save yourself this aggravation. Don’t rush the process. Pick the right tenants from the very beginning.
2) Meet your prospective tenants in person before they move in
I cannot stress this point enough. This is an absolute MUST! You need to meet with your prospective tenants in order to see how they are in person. If you cannot do this yourself, you can have a trusted thrid party do this for you. I caution you here, as it is very difficult to find someone who can do this as well as you would. The bottom line is that if you don’t meet your tenants in person, and you end up not getting along with them, of if they turn out to be a poor choice, you have NO ONE to blame buy yourself.
The biggest mistake I have ever made as a real estate investor was when I did not meet a prospective tenant in person. I outsourced this job to a property manager. The tenant moved in and it was a disaster. Obviously, those are all the details I can give you due to privacy. However, in this scenario, I did not blame anybody but myself. I was the one that was supposed to screen the tenants. The buck stopped with me…and the buck will stop with you!
In summary, these are 2 very simple rules that you must obey when selecting tenants for your rental property. By following these rules you will ensure that you are doing everything in your power so that you can have the right tenants for your rental property!
Best Regards,
Neil Uttamsingh
ps: First Rental Property is going to be making a HUGE announcement in September. Check back in September for details!
