Tips for Choosing Between Qualified Tenants

Tips for Choosing Between Qualified Tenants

Excalibur Homes
Excalibur Homes

Tips for Choosing Between Qualified Tenants

As a landlord, you must make a lot of difficult calls and decisions throughout your career. Choosing which tenants to rent out to is no exception. If you’ve already established tenant requirements and criterion, but you’re having trouble deciding who to rent to, here are a few tips for choosing between qualified tenants to help make your life as a landlord a little easier.

Comply With the Fair Housing Act

First and foremost, however you decide to choose between tenants should comply with the Fair Housing Act. This means that you cannot choose to rent out to a tenant on the basis of race, sex, religion, disability, or familial status. If it is found that you chose on the basis of these dislikes or preferences, you may face serious litigation. So, remember to choose fairly and without bias to the aforementioned protected classes.

Overall, you have two methods you can use when choosing between two or more qualified tenants. The first method involves using your rental criteria to choose which application to process, while the second method involves processing applications that uploaded everything initially requested.

Look for Applications that Meet your Criteria

When processing applications, the best way to evaluate which application to proceed with is by glancing through the applications and looking at their qualifications. Depending on the income and credit criteria you use, check to see if the applicant meets these criteria. As an example, if the property is $3000/month and the applicant states they make $2500/month, this is not an application to process first if it doesn’t meet your income requirements. However, if an applicant states to make $9000/month, this would be a good application to process if their income meets the criteria. In a similar way, if their credit findings do not meet your required criteria, move on to the next application.

Look for Applications with all Needed Information

If you’re still unsure how to choose between tenants, look for applications that have uploaded all necessary information. As an example, the application has all needed income documents included, all necessary co-applicants have submitted their applications, etc. This will reduce the back and forth of requesting additional information and will lead to a smoother and quicker processing experience for both the applicant and the processor. An application that takes the time to follow instructions and upload the necessary information is an application you should take the time to review.

With these tips for choosing between qualified tenants, you’re sure to pick a tenant that suits your rental property.

If you’re looking for a rental home or want to get a better idea of the average listings in the Atlanta metro area, Excalibur Homes has Decatur rental properties available for viewing.

 

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