You’re a good judge of character, right? Every landlord
thinks they have a natural gut instinct for picking out the honest, responsible
tenant in a sea of possibly unqualified applicants. There are signs to look for, of course. For
example, a tenant applicant’s personal appearance – not to mention their
punctuality – when they meet you to tour the rental property can tell you a lot
about how they handle responsibility and how they care for their personal
property. Also their tenant application can provide clues, based on the job and
education they list, not to mention whether it is filled out in its entirety or
turned in unfinished.
Many landlords still rely on their gut to tell them whether
or not a particular tenant applicant is worthy of signing a rental property agreement and becoming
their tenant. If you are one of these
landlords, have you ever faltered from that instinct? Have you ever considered
accepting a tenant applicant on first impression alone, but then gone ahead
with a tenant credit check or other
form of formal tenant verification
just to settle your lingering doubts? If so, you could be opening yourself up
to claims of discrimination by a tenant or tenant applicant who feels they were
treated in a way that was different and discriminatory.
Look, even if you are a great judge of character, property
management is a business, and in business it’s best to rely on cold hard facts
– every single time. Set yourself up with tenant screening protocols for every
single tenant applicant you are seriously considering, and don’t waver from
those protocols. That way you can be sure you’re being fair to all, AND you’re
almost guaranteeing a better tenant than if you’d just “gone with your gut.” Visit ATS Inc's homepage for more info on how we can help you!
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