How Hard is It to Find Tenants for Rental Property

Finding good tenants

who will accept intendance of your property and pay rent on time can be challenging, especially if you don’t know where to start. According to the

Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report 2018
, 70% of renters who moved inside the last year moved from one rental to another, and many were already thinking about their next motility. For landlords, that means that looking for tenants isn’t a quondam task — it’s an ongoing part of

owning and managing a rental property
.

In gild to discover a tenant, you need to have a strategy in place before you start looking at renters. Use the steps beneath to programme out the all-time way to discover a tenant and follow it every time you lot have a vacancy.

ane. Rent a property manager

An experienced property managing director or rental amanuensis knows

how to find a renter fast
. They have the

local real estate noesis

to help fix a competitive rental toll, the marketing feel to assist reduce the time your property sits vacant and training to recognize ruby-red flags when reviewing applicants. If you lot’re willing to pay an additional fee,

hiring a property director

or rental agent is one way to

detect tenants for your rental property
.

2. Advertise your property for rent

When y’all’re figuring out

where to find renters
, showtime identify where renters are searching. According to the

Zillow Group Report
, 73% of renters use online resources to detect a abode — and only 11% report using impress ads.

Where to advertise your rental property

You can

find tenants online

— and offline — using these advertising methods:

Zillow, HotPads and Trulia:
Attain a big puddle of renters with

Zillow Rental Manager
, and your listing volition exist seen on Zillow Group’s network of rental sites.

StreetEasy:

If you’re marketing a rental in New York Urban center, posting on

StreetEasy

can assistance you get your rental ad in front of a larger local audience.

Social media:

Share your

rental ad

on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get more traction. Ask family unit and friends to share with their networks, too.

Newspaper:

Depending on where your rental is located, the newspaper may still be an effective way to advertise a vacancy — this tin be particularly truthful in pocket-size towns. Many newspapers also offer online classified advertising in addition to their print versions.

Your website:

If yous manage multiple properties, you may already accept a website for your rentals. Be sure to update it whenever you lot know you’ll accept an opening in the nearly future. It can be a great manner to go a caput beginning on

finding new tenants
.

For-rent signs:

This unproblematic strategy tin can be a nifty method for alluring attention from passersby or people in the neighborhood who are looking for a rental. Be cautious if you’re posting signs before your current tenants accept moved out, because it could atomic number 82 to people knocking on their door or looking in their windows.

Flyers:

Flyers are some other traditional method that can help you promote your property in a pocket-sized town or within a neighborhood. Flyers can also be a great manner to spread the word most a rental open house —

60% of renters

say information technology’due south of import that they tour a rental domicile in person before signing a charter.

Word of mouth:

Spread the word! Telling your friends, neighbors, relatives and coworkers that you’re

looking for tenants

can be a great way to fill up your vacancy — and

find a tenant

someone you know can vouch for.

What to include in your rental advertizement

Create a rental ad that caters to your specific rental market. For both online listings and impress listings (when space allows), ever include the following data in your

rental advertizement
:

• A unique
  
  rental property description
• High-quality photos
  
  of the rental property
• Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
• Rent price
• Date of availability
• Your contact data

One of the best ways to get tenants to apply for your rental property is to ready a rent price that’south competitive with like rentals in the area. Your rental advertizing should as well follow your state’s landlord-tenant laws, federal fair housing laws and any other applicable laws.

3. Use a belongings management tool

A property management tool can help you go along track of day-to-day tasks and can make it easier to

find tenants online
. For example, if you use

Zillow Rental Director
, you can create one ad for your rental that will be automatically posted on Zillow, Trulia and HotPads. Zillow Rental Director also helps you lot reply to leads more quickly and manage applications — including tenant screenings — online.

4. Host a rental open business firm

Your rental ads should encourage interested renters to connect with you. Make sure to respond promptly to any questions and follow up on requests to bout the holding. According to the

Zillow Group Report
, 60% of renters discover it of import to tour a dwelling house earlier signing a charter — and 71% also said that after inquiring about a list, they expect to hear back from the landlord or property manager within 24 hours.

Consider

hosting an open house

or scheduling individual showings to see prospective tenants in person. In-person tours requite potential renters the opportunity to see the home for themselves, and they can requite you an initial impression of whether the person will be a responsible tenant. Utilize these tips to help guide your showing:

• Know your belongings’s unique selling points.
• Take an idea of what you’re willing to negotiate — for example: pets, fees or move-in date.
• Understand
  
  fair housing laws
  
  so you know what criteria you tin can or cannot utilize to deny an applicant.
• Take specific, consistent criteria so you can streamline your tenant screening process.
• Be upfront about the required income-to-rent ratio, screening requirements and policies — and exist prepared to answer questions well-nigh your requirements.

five. Enquire each renter pre-screening questions

Prepare a list of

questions to inquire each renter
. A skillful landlord-tenant relationship starts with the application process, so it’s of import to ask insightful, well-organized questions. Consider these tips:

• Avoid questions or suggestions that could be perceived as discriminatory.
• Enquire all tenants the aforementioned questions and rank responses objectively and in the same way.
• Ask open up-ended questions that don’t imply that a certain answer or response should be given.
• Keep the conversation focused on the property and amenities.
• Give the potential tenant fourth dimension to ask you questions.

6. Take rental applications

It’s important to treat all applicants equally. Invite all interested renters to complete a

rental application
. Zillow Rental Manager’s

application and screening tool

simplifies the application process and includes background and credit screening. The tool is free for landlords, and each bidder but pays a $29 fee to employ the tool for xxx days. When accepting applications:

• Put a time and appointment stamp on applications as you receive them — whether in person, past email or online.
• Use the same application, questions and requirements for everyone who applies to rent your property.
• Carefully check for obvious inconsistencies within each application.
• Create a spreadsheet of each application y’all receive so you can track the progress and compare qualifications.

If you have more than than a few rental backdrop or many applicants, you may benefit from a lead tracking system like

Zillow Rental Managing director
. It tin can help you stay organized and aid you match prospective tenants to available properties — and you can communicate directly with applicants through Zillow Rental Director.

vii. Bank check references

Consider contacting

past landlords
, employers and any other references submitted by the applicant for a complete picture of their financial and rental history. A script can assistance ensure you enquire the right questions every time.

How to accost a previous landlord:

An bidder can hands provide the contact info of a friend instead of an actual landlord. Carefully word your questions to verify that you’re speaking to the person you think you lot are. For example, you might say:

“Hi, I’thousand a landlord doing reference checks on [Applicant’s name]. How do you know them?”

How to address an employer:

Many businesses have limitations on how much information they are able to disembalm about their employees. Brand sure your questions don’t go beyond the scope of your role as a landlord. Yeah or no questions increase the likelihood of getting a response. Try something similar:

“[Applicant’s proper name] stated in his application that he earns $4,550 per month. Is this right?”

8. Run tenant credit checks

When

finding tenants for a rental property
, one way to verify financial history is by

running a credit check
. Credit reports can exist an of import part of the screening procedure, serving as one factor to help you determine whether an bidder will exist able to pay the rent every calendar month. A credit report looks at:

• Specific types of payment history, including on-time payments, late payments and payment patterns
• Residence history
• Prior bankruptcies and evictions
• Credit score

Keep in mind that a low credit score or a poor payment history doesn’t necessarily mean the renter should be butterfingers. There are many circumstances that can touch a potential renter’s credit score. For case, an applicant may have a lower credit score because of an unexpected medical expense, because they’re rebuilding their credit or because they are just starting to create a credit history.

Pro tip:
Zillow’s

application and screening tool

includes a full credit written report from Experian and allows the applicant to annotate on their credit study. Be sure to read the comments and consider request relevant follow-upward questions before you make up one’s mind the bidder isn’t a skillful fit for your rental.

ix. Request tenant background checks

Groundwork checks are another mode to screen tenants. Some cities and states have recently started prohibiting background checks on potential tenants, so be sure to check the laws for your area. Even if background checks are prohibited in your expanse, you may exist permitted to check applicative sex activity offender registries.

Over again, talk with your bidder near any issues that ascend during the groundwork check to give them a chance to explain the circumstances.

10. Decide which applicant is best qualified

Now that y’all know

how to find tenants
, y’all’re ready to choose a renter. Review all the qualified applications y’all’ve received, and be certain to:

• Avoid treating an applicant differently based on that applicant’s inclusion in a
  
  protected form
  .
• Avoid considering personal and/or non-financial qualities.
• Avoid selecting renters with your gut.
• Comply with federal, state and local
  
  landlord-tenant laws
  .

11. Sign new tenants to a lease

Having your new tenant sign a lease agreement is an important way to protect your property and make clear what is expected of your renter. Using a

digital lease

is an easy style to take care of this crucial step. When you meet with your renter for the lease signing, be sure to comprehend these fundamental points:

• Review your property’due south
  
  rules and requirements
   to make certain your tenant understands them.
• Collect the
  
  security deposit
  
  and first month’s rent (this usually happens at the
  
  lease signing appointment or at motility-in
  , but local laws may dictate some other process, then be sure to check with an attorney).
• Make certain both you and your tenant receive a signed copy of the lease.

Looking for more than information on being your own landlord and renting out your property? Zillow Rental Manager provides the tools and resource to aid you first capitalizing on your investment.