Screening tenants with a consistent process can be a huge key to being a successful landlord.
First off , screening tenants properly (at least in my mind) is the most important step a landlord can take if they want to stay in the landlord business.
Too many bad tenants can wear a person out which means getting good people in your properties that won’t destroy your rental, that pay on time and that stay extended periods simply make life easier.
Part of a consistent process involves asking the same questions over and over and with enough experience you start to learn little quirks and potential problems by the responses you receive.
Additionally by using consistent questions you can stay out of trouble with every one from fair housing groups to discrimination claims.
Important Questions For Screening Tenants
Some of the important screening questions you can ask involve when do the tenants want the property.
By asking this you’ll have a clearer idea if they are serious ( which would be a response like “We need something before the end of the month”) or if you should be moving them down the list of priorities (when they respond “We need something in the next three to six month”).
Your time as a landlord is important so you need to focus on the serious tenants, not the Lookie-Lou’s.
You can get so involved chatting and talking about how great your property is to someone and suddenly you’ve lost 40 minutes only to discover they weren’t even close to ready to find a place. By asking them when they need a place up front it can save a lot of your time.
Another important question is if they have given notice to their current landlord.
If they respond No, it may be a red flag that they won’t be able to commit properly to moving in and it suggests they may treat you the same way in the future.
As part of a consistent process and the more times you ask questions like these you’ll start to see patterns as well.
Tenants who beat about the bush or simply evade answering will start to stand out and you’ll be able to weed out problems before they even occur.
Perhaps most importantly if you’re doing these screening questions on the phone or via email before you even set up any viewing appointments it will go a long ways to saving you from wasted showings and more lost time!
Would You Like My List Of Screening Questions?
With over 1,500 tenants during the last decade and a half I’ve asked a lot of questions and streamlined my process down to just seven questions I ALWAYS ask tenants.
These questions are just such a part of my process now it makes it so much easier to avoid those problem tenants that cause landlords so much headache.
Obviously it’s not a guarantee, as there are other factors that can come into play, but it’s a great way to narrow down the field of candidates.
If you’d like to grab my list of Seven Questions, just fill in the form below and I’ll email them off to you with some additional tips and suggestions about how to ask them and what their responses may mean!
And, if you have any questions or suggestions for other landlords about screening tenants, leave a comment below!
Great tips Bill! I’ve got my own list going now. It’s up to 27 questions. You’re right though. I could probably find out most of what I need to know with only 7 of them.
I’ve linked to them in the name field if you are interested in comparing notes!
Hey thanks Domenic! Long time no chat!
The reason I like the seven is it’s easier to memorize than 10 or 20 questions. Sure you can have a checklist, but I found I used to take these calls while I was driving or out quite often (strange how no one ever calls when you are sitting staring at your phone…), so having five to seven questions to get a feel for someone was important.
Also, these should be considered your pre-screening questions. The ones you ask just to see if you’re wasting your time meeting them. There is no guarantee they will be suitable in person, but if you find out they aren’t in need of a place for three months the need to rush to show it evaporates quickly. Additionally if they haven’t provided notice to their landlord, it might indicate they really aren’t that serious yet either.
I’ll take a look at your list and leave a comment on your site as well.
Bill