Top 3 Advice for Screening Potential Tenants

What Qualifies A Good Tenant?

Does a good renter have excellent credit, a sizable security deposit, or even a high income? The housing crisis and the high number of foreclosures may change the method that landlords employ to vet potential tenants.

The main goal of renting out your house should be to find a suitable tenant who will pay the rent on time and maintain the house to some extent. What can be done to reduce renters’ late payments or outright nonpayment and evictions? Large deposits can maximize renters’ responsibility to the maintenance of your home.

I recommend landlords use a qualifying strategy akin to loan underwriting. Before renting a home, everyone should ask oneself this question. Can and how will my tenant make the payment on a regular basis? Employment can always provide a response to this query. The likelihood of finding a decent renter can be increased in a variety of ways, including by simply looking at their employment.

Time spent working – The first thing you should consider is how long the applicant has worked for the current employer. If a prospective tenant has held a job for a while, it is easier to demonstrate that they will be able to make on-time monthly payments with a steady stream of income.

statement of income – It’s crucial to know exactly how much your renter makes as well as where he works. It is acceptable to request the latest two paystubs and the W2s from the previous year. Although this might seem harsh, you have provided answers to two important queries. How much money does your renter make and whether they actually work.

Ratio of Debt to Income – While checking your credit might offer you an indication of your credit score and repayment history, how are you going to assess people who have had bankruptcies and foreclosures? The market today has more qualified tenants with bad credit than ever before, but sometimes a bad borrower is a bad borrower, and you need to deny them for your rental. My recommendation is to develop a debt-to-income ratio by looking at credit, income, and employment. This will show whether they make enough money to pay their debts and rent.

This procedure is quite comparable to being approved for a mortgage. The landlord is responsible for creating their own standards for what is appropriate in their particular market. Checking employment, having documentation of income, and calculating debt ratios are just a few easy steps that can assist boost the likelihood of finding a decent tenant.


Memphis Buy And Hold is specializing in locating, purchasing, renovating and managing single-family and multi-unit properties and possesses from 2007 up to the present of experience in real estate investing and property management in the Memphis and Nashville markets.