Shortlist Your Applications for a Quick Response
There is not a lot of time to waste. Your ideal tenant may
have gone to two or three open homes today, and put in an application at each
of them. Who calls them back first wins!
Get Proof of Income & 100 Points of ID
Once you have selected the application (or two) that you
want to screen, make sure you have proof of income and 100 points of ID. Sometimes
this step is left for the end of the screening process, but I think that is a
mistake. Asking for the information now motivates the tenants to provide it
promptly (so they can get approved). Proof of Income– This might
include all of the below:
- 3
most recent payslips
- Bank
statements (just showing their income is fine)
- End
of year Tax Returns
I do not accept invoices as proof of income from self-employed
tenants as they are not proof that money is actually coming in, but a bank
statement is a good alternative. 100 points of ID is self-explanatory,
but we sometimes forget to explain why we need it. At this point, you will need
it to check your tenant on the National Tenancy Database, but you will also
need to be sure that the people you rent to are actually who they say they are.
This information is on the application for the tenants to read. If they ask
when the latest, they can get the information to you, remember that you are
trying to have the application approved within 48 hours. If they cannot get it
to you by tomorrow, you may want to move to another application.
Hint: Even though you are screening applications at this point, do
not stop advertising and showing the house. The tenants you are looking at may
look great, but who knows what will come up. If you are not allowing new
applications to come in, you may lose precious time.
RealRenta has all the tools that a property manager has but for less
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Join now and the cost is less than a cup of coffee a week to manage your
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RealRenta also has a free vision, so why not check it out.
Jason Gwerder
Wednesday, 4 September 2024
