Every landlord wants good tenants. But just how do you attract the right people? Below are just a few tips on how to get good tenants to rent out your property.

Do a background check

A background check will prevent you from taking on any tenants with a rocky history. Some of the basic background checks you can do include:

• Asking for a reference from a previous landlord (if they’re rented before)
• Performing a credit check 
• Looking into their employment history
• Looking into their address history
• Doing a criminal background check

Using this information, you can then decide whether you think a tenant is trustworthy or not. There are companies that can handle background checks for you.

Check their status/income

A good tenant needs to be earning enough to pay the rent, as well as being able to cover other living costs on top of this. It’s worth checking that a tenant have proof of a stable income. Some landlords ask for three months of bank statements as proof of income. With self-employed tenants, you may want to ask for statements going back further. 

Have a guarantor sign the agreement

 It’s common for some landlords to ask for a guarantor to sign the tenancy agreement. A guarantor is someone who must pay the rent if the tenant is unable to do so. This could be a parent, guardian, or friend You should carry out a background check and proof of income on a guarantor.

Set rules for your tenants

As the owner of the property, you have authority to set certain rules. This could include ‘no smoking in the property’ or ‘no pets’. Such rules could help to reduce the risk of damage to the property.

Rules will need to be clearly outlined in the contract and you should offer appropriate advice information and advice where possible. For instance, if it is the tenant’s responsibility to dispose of garbage, you should let them know exactly when it has to be removed and whether recycling and compost needs to be disposed of in a specific way. This legally protects you if a tenant turns around and claims that it’s not their problem.

Get help from a property management company

As these tips on how to find good tenants show, finding a good tenant can require a detailed screening process. A lot of landlords may find this too complicated or time-consuming. For this reason, it can often be worth hiring the help of a property management company (such as our company, A Superior Property Management Company). With the help of a property management company, you don’t have to worry about handling background checks and writing up tenancy agreements. While you still get to choose your tenants, all the screening is done for you. A property management company can also market the property for you, so you don’t have to worry about the question of where to find good tenants either.

If you are looking for a Bend property management company that always goes above and beyond for you, give us a call today. We aren’t the biggest, just the best.