Are you facing a higher vacancy rate in your Vienna rental properties? Is the turnover from one year to the next increasing even though you haven't made many changes to your property management style?
Vienna is a desirable place to live thanks to its proximity to key commuter metro stops. As the cost of rent continues to rise in the area, the leasing applicant pool is starting to shift.
Tenant screening is one of the best tools you can use to find reliable tenants who aren't likely to leave once their lease is up.
Read on to learn the benefits of outsourcing your tenant screening process and how PMI Smart Choice can help.
Running Thorough Credit Checks
If you're a first-time or accidental landlord, you may not realize the power of a credit check. While verifying an applicant's employment and income is a good start, you can learn a lot more about their finances from a credit check.
Yes, credit checks will reveal an applicant's credit score, which should be higher than 670 to indicate good credit. However, credit checks reveal additional information like current debt and, in some cases, past bankruptcies and unpaid alimony or child support. Professional tenant screening always includes credit checks because it will tell you how much of an applicant's income is already tied up.
Checking Backgrounds and References
Verifying that a tenant has decent financial stability isn't enough. Professional tenant screening can also include things like criminal background checks. We also often ask applicants to submit contact information for previous landlords.
If you want a tenant who will renew their lease, it's important to learn more about their past habits. Did they damage a previous rental property and get evicted or break their lease early? Ideally, you want to find someone who commits to one rental property for more than one leasing cycle.
Setting Reasonable Prices
Tenant screening costs money. It's a common practice for applicants to cover part or all of that cost with a check or money order. This is a non-refundable fee that may or may not roll into security deposits for new tenants.
When setting application fees, it's important to ride the line between finding a serious applicant and deterring potential applicants. At PMI, we perform thorough market research and update accounting information often. That way, we can set prices, from application fees to the cost of rent, that work for both you and your tenants.
Call PMI for Better Tenant Screening in Vienna
The Vienna rental market continues to shift in response to rising rental costs. While this can lead to better, more reliable tenants, it can also lead to higher tenant turnover. If you want to save money and decrease vacancy rates, consider tenant screening.
PMI Smart Choice is proud to serve the rental property owners of Vienna, VA with full-service and customizable property management. If you need help with tenant screening, maintenance, marketing, and more, PMI is here for you. Contact us today to schedule a consultation to learn more.
