So you have an interested renter… Whats next?
Screening: Don’t jump the gun, make sure you properly screen this tenant.
Flat Fee Landlord uses a system called “Perfect 10ant” we check 10 key criteria to ensure we maintain our LESS THAN 1% EVICTION RATE!
1) Credit Score (we request a minimum of 650)
2) Criminal History (less is more here)
3) Rental History (unless they own, you want to see a lot of it)
4) Income Verification (collect paystubs, should not be difficult for a tenant to provide up to 3 months)
5) ID Verification (I hope they have ID)
6) Eviction History (Non-negotiable)
7) Interview Former Landlords (Landlord are usually happy to tell you about their tenants)
8) Employment History (Ensure a solid employment history)
9) Residence Verification (this goes with the previous landlord checks, make sure these addresses are legit)
10) Debt-To-Income Ratio (high debt to income may be a red flag especially if it grows while they are renting from you)
These are the 10 criteria that we check off to make sure the tenants we place are more than 99% successful.
You want to make sure all of these items are to your satisfaction as the home owner before sending out a lease to get started.
The Lease
Don’t pull one from the internet and think you’re set to go. If you have access to a residential lease through an attorney or a local realtor, use these resources. A lease is more than just an agreement to rent your home, it is a legal contract for someone else to take possession of your property with agreed upon terms.
Flat Fee Landlord has a lease specific to our management services which includes additional language to ensure you as a landlord are protected and can clearly execute the lease to provide additional security for your investment.
Before taking the time to draft a lease, make sure you have a commitment from the tenant. Collect a security deposit or first months rent, or both up front. This ensures the tenant has the funds available as well as is committed to providing you with what is needed to start renting the home.
REMEMBER: Your tenants security deposit MUST go into a proper escrow account during the entirety of the lease. Don’t know what an escrow account is? Give me a call and I can help you out
Move In
Now this sounds simple, you have a lease in place, you have already collected first months rent and a security deposit, so just hand over the keys right? WRONG!
Make sure you properly inspect the home…
Flat Fee Landlord will take photos of every inch of the property, inside and out. I recommend you do the same.
Test all appliances, make sure all of the keys you provide work for all of the doors in the home. Have a garage? Make sure the door openers work.
This will be the last chance you have to take care of maintenance on your terms. Once the tenant is in the home, they will rely on you as the home owner to provide the proper repairs for anything that goes wrong during the lease.
It may seem like a pain, but getting ALL maintenance taken care of before a move-in will save you from needless headaches down the road of unexpected maintenance calls.
For more information be sure to visit www.flatfeelandlorddallas.com or give us a call at (469) 703-8139
New topics next week!
