The most significant decision a landlord can make is who to rent their space to. The difference between a good tenant and a bad tenant can make or break your success as a real estate investor. Failure to properly screen tenants can wreak havoc on your finances, from your savings to the value of your property to even your happiness. To retain your sanity as a landlord, follow these simple steps and reminders when screening potential tenants.  

Screen Every Potential Tenant 

The biggest mistake you could make is skipping the screening process altogether. No matter how nice or put together the potential tenant is, it puts you at considerable risk when you do not go through with the screening process. Finding out essential details of the applicant, such as criminal history, credit scores, and eviction history, can make you think twice about the supposed “perfect fit.”  

Confirm Their Identity  

It’s true; people use fake IDs, passports, and other means of verification to secure a rental. Confirm a person’s identity with a photo id whenever possible.  

Confirming Income Sources 

Don’t just take someone’s word for how much income they take in. If a potential tenant can’t pay the rent, it will become apparent no matter how well they cover it up. Always require proof of income by asking for pay stubs or a written letter from their employer. 

Require Previous References  

No reference, no problem? Think again! If the potential tenant isn’t renting their first apartment from you, they should have some reference for you to call on. Why might there be no references? The tenant could have previously wracked up a property damage bill, being late on rent, evicted, and the list goes on. Always require references! 

Avoiding these common mistakes will be time-consuming but worth it in the end when you have a high-quality, long-standing tenant. Tenants are easy to come by, but the good ones take a little bit more work to find. When in doubt, always do more research.  

Are you looking at starting your journey as a landlord? With Beyond 404 Realty in Forney, Texas, Anthoney Hanks is the local Dallas-Fort Worth area expert on finding potential rental properties. Anthoney is an investor himself and loves to help those in his community start the journey towards financial freedom by becoming investors. For more information on this, please visit our website www.beyond404realty.com to get started.