How Rancho Cordova Property Management Teams Find Reliable Tenants
There are few things as wonderful as Christmas, puppies, and babies. But if you are familiar with the rental property management scene, you know having a reliable tenant who pays rent on time each month and treats your property with respect, makes everyday feel like Christmas. The Rancho Cordova property management leader, RPM SAC-METRO, knows that your experience with your tenants can make or break how you feel about owning a rental home. With so many applicants and different factors that go into considering accepting a new tenant, Select has provided landlords with a fool-proof way to keep your cash flow routine.
The Basics
Listing your home on the rental market is a big step for many landlords. Homeowners often have an emotional attachment to the home, making this big step a scary step. The California Real Estate Commission considers rental properties as business ventures, and they should be treated like one. The most successful Rancho Cordova property managers let go of their emotional attachments and get down to the basics:
- Applications: Require that every person who is 18 years or older who wants to reside in your rental property fill out an Application to Rent. On this application, you will discover how many occupants wish to live in the residence, if they are employed, their income, rental history, and if the applicants have pets. Double check that the applicants have all signed and dated the bottom of their applications.
- Income Proof: This can sometimes get messy. People are paid in a variety of different ways while some are self-employed. Always require that applicants submit sufficient income proof when they return their Applicant to Rent. Prior to listing your home on the rental market, Rancho Cordova property management teams need to establish a proper income to rent rate ratio. This ratio is often 2.5 to 3 times the rent amount. If your listing price is $2,800 per month in rent, the combined gross household income must be a minimum of $7,000 if your ratio is 2.5. Always looks at gross household income, not net. Most property managers consider proper income proof to be the two most recent pay stubs, six months of bank statements, or two years of tax return documents.
- Credit Checks: It is difficult to rank one of these four rental selection basics above another, but credit checks along with rental history are arguably the most helpful. A credit check will tell you any outstanding debts that an applicant has. These can range anywhere from unpaid utility bills, to medical bills, to unpaid balances to previous landlords or management companies, and more. In the Rancho Cordova property management industry, credit checks alone can determine the outcome for an applicant. Landlords and managers should not accept any applicants who have unpaid balances to utility companies or previous landlords, but many do offer leeway to those with medical bill balances. If a tenant does have a small balance to a utility company, some landlords will give them the opportunity to pay off the debt that day and bring them proof of the payment as a condition of accepting the applicant.
- Rental History: When screening your tenants, call previous landlords and management companies. Some good questions that Rancho Cordova property managers ask previous landlords. Answers to these questions can be very insightful and helpful in selecting the right tenant for your property.
- Did the tenant pay their rent on time and in full each month? If not, how many late payments were received?
- What was the rent amount when they lived at your property?
- Did the tenant take good care of the home or property?
- Was the tenant a courteous neighbor?
- Would you rent to this tenant again?
Rancho Cordova Property Managers Must Treat Everyone the Same
Be aware and educated on discrimination laws. Big corporations as well as private landlords must treat all applicants equally and with respect. Landlords cannot discriminate against religion, race, color, national origin, gender, familial status, or disabilities. Some local governments have also enacted that property managers cannot discriminate against sex, age, marital status, source of income, height, weight, sexual orientation, gender orientation, or public assistance recipients.
Do your due diligence and screen your applicants with uncompromising guidelines. The work you put in up front will pay off in the long run. You might find a tenant so good, they will stay for years and care for your house as if it were their own. Industry experts at Rancho Cordova property management team, Select, adhere to a rigorous screening process to find clients only the best of the best. Our proven process helps property owners know they can depend on that rent check coming in month after month. Call us today to see how we can find you the perfect tenant and in record time.