If you’re just getting started building a portfolio of income properties, you’ll find that it’s very easy to find lots of potential tenants, but it’s hard to find the RIGHT tenants.
Here are three ways you can get the right tenants for your properties so you can rent to people who will settle in and enjoy your properties for years to come.
Step 1 – Focus on Smart Marketing
Although most property owners in Portland, Oregon will tell you that Craigslist is the key to success when it comes to finding tenants, you can find more prospective tenants if you add other digital marketing sources to your marketing repertoire.
Some of the excellent digital resources you should consider are: Zillow.com, Trulia.com, Estately.com, HotPads.com, and Vast.com.
Step 2 – Ask Your Current Tenants for Referrals
Whenever you have a vacancy, make sure your best current tenants are aware. Encourage your current tenants to refer their friends, family members or associates who may be interested in living in the same building.
Step 3 – Focus More On Screening Prospective Tenants
Yes, you may have a good “feeling” about a prospective tenant, but that good feeling won’t insure that the tenant will be reliable, trustworthy, and someone you’ll want to have living in one of your properties for months or years to come.
You need to employ the services of a very capable screening firm which can provide you access to all of the national databases so you can thoroughly review the credit, criminal, and eviction history of your prospect.
You’ll also need to be diligent and take the time to talk to current and prior landlords and current and prior employers. The time and effort you take to screen your prospective tenants will have more to do with your success as a landlord than any other single factor – period.
And remember, good tenants do not mind a thorough screening process – it speaks volumes about the neighbors they may have if they move in to one of your properties!