Advertising Rental Property Online? Read this FIRST!

If you decide to advertise your rental property on free sites, such as Craigslist, or other real estate boards, there are a few things you should do to avoid headaches that come with online advertising.

First, protect yourself against spam. Do not provide your personal or professional email address in an online ad. Instead, have the messages come to you through web host, either by method of a personal inbox on the site or a forwarding system. You could also set up a designated email address for each property listing and have it send out an “auto-reply” with information about the rental, such as pet policies and tenant screening requirements. Also, attach an application. Only after you have established a dialogue with a legitimate tenant applicant who seems genuinely interested in your rental property, should you then exchange personal contact information.

Secondly, if the site doesn’t offer pictures (or even if does), ask the tenant applicant if they are familiar with the area of your rental property. Suggest they do a drive-by of the home to see if they are still interested in it before filling out an application. This will save you the time and trouble of conducting a background check and tenant screening if the person changes their mind after seeing the place.

Lastly, always make sure to include the rental price in your online listing. The first question on a prospective tenant’s mind is cost. If you don’t want to answer fifty to a hundred emails all asking the same question, make sure to include it in your property listing.

Visit ATS Inc's homepage to find out more about our tenant screening services!

Follow ATS Inc on Twitter!

The first impression is a crucial step in the tenant screening process

A lot has changed about the tenant screening process and the world in recent decades. We are a more casual society – we dress more casually, speak more casually to strangers, among other things. Still, you can tell a lot about a person from his or her first impression, and that is still an important step in the tenant screening. Sure it’s crucial to obtain their credit report and conduct a background check, to verify their employment and check references. But meeting a prospective tenant face to face satisfies a “gut check” that you can’t get strictly from a written report. 

There are a few things to look for when meeting a tenant applicant at the rental property, things that can go a long way toward helping you decide whether the applicant is worthy of becoming your tenant. 

• His attire. Applicants likely won’t treat your face-to-face meeting like a job interview; they mostly dress casually, and that’s fine. But are the clothes clean and presentable? Is there basic hygiene? The way a person presents himself says a lot about the value they place on themselves and their interactions with others. If he doesn’t respect himself, he might not respect you. 

• His interest. Does he seem honestly interested and excited about the prospect of living in the home? Is he engaged and open with you? 

• His questions.  Does he ask questions about breaking the lease, pets and other rules that lead you to believe he’ll be trying to get one over on you? 

• His application. Are there misspellings and blank spaces? Is it completely filled out? Is he making excuses about what an ex-landlord or employer might say when you call his references? These are all red flags to keep in mind when conducting the tenant screening.

http://www.alwaysscreen.com


Follow ATS Inc. on Twitter!