Quick Guide to Effective Tenant Screening in Las Vegas
Quick Guide to Effective Tenant Screening in Las Vegas
Why is it important to perform a tenant screening in your Las Vegas rental home?
Skipping the tenant and pet screening process can lead to placing low quality residents in your Las Vegas rental. You might discover the occupant can barely meet the rental payment or find them unable to keep your rental unit clean.
It’s therefore essential to run a thorough tenant screening to limit your exposure to risks, and keep your investment property safe. Bad short-term and long-term tenants can take up a lot of time and energy and do not maximize profits in your property. They can also be costly since your Las Vegas rental will end up needing more repairs.
Identify Quality Tenants
It’s easy to spot high-quality renters after advertising your property by answering the following questions:
- Can they afford to pay the monthly rental dues?
- Do they have a stable job?
- Do past records show they paid their rent on time?
- Do they have a clean criminal record?
Conducting a tenant screening process in your Las Vegas rental home requires knowledge about the type of renter you want to occupy your unit. Your standards should be your guide in making a tenant screening procedure so it helps you land the residents you’re seeking.
Conduct Pre-Screening
If you run an extensive tenant screening for every interested renter then you can waste a lot of time. This is why pre-screening is needed.
You can do pre-screening by:
- Including key requirements in your property listing: mention the requirement of a background check, whether you have an open-door policy towards pets, and who is in charge of paying the utilities
- Meeting the renter in person during the property showing: ask the right questions when meeting the prospective renter to assess if they’re suitable as residents in your Las Vegas rental home
- Communicating with the renters: ask the reason behind the move, the state of their current living conditions, when the planned move is, the number of pets they have, landlord and employer referrals, and their habits such as smoking
You can already tell a lot about a renter when you meet them for the first time. Are they punctual or late? Do they show interest and make inquiries? Are they actively moving the application process along? Are they submitting requirements promptly? Are they open to approving a credit and background check?
An advantage to pre-screening renters for your Las Vegas rental home is being aware of possible negativity. In fact, most unqualified renters tend to bow out early and avoid extensive tenant screening. This is beneficial for you since you gain more time to focus on the qualified tenants.
Review a Rental Application
Rental applications help landlords by providing vital information. They should contain the following:
- Contact information
- Current residence and the landlord’s name and information
- Former residence history that includes landlords’ name and contact information
- Current and former employers, job, salary, duration of employment, and references
- Credit and background checks
Landlords need to be aware of how much income interested tenants generate to know if they can pay the rent in the Las Vegas rental home.
Most landlords have a benchmark rate of triple the lease rate amount. But, this shouldn’t be the sole measure alone since some renters who don’t make as much can be in a good financial standing with little debt and a good rental history.
Verify Income and Employment
Getting in touch with references helps you to know whether the narrative matches. Keep in mind that some employers won’t provide a lot of information and may only tell you how long the employee has been working with the company and if they’re really their employee.
In case you end up with limited information, you can verify the income by asking for the following documents from the renter:
- W-2
- Pay stub
- Offer letter with salary
Analyze Tenant Reports
Your background check should include:
- Learning the tenant’s complete rental history
- Getting ahold of a credit report and credit score for analysis
- Being aware of prior evictions
- Finding out if a prospective tenant has a criminal record
Aim for a 680 or higher credit score. This ensures that the renter has healthy finances. Don’t forget to investigate if a renter has outstanding debt, a criminal record, or an eviction record.
Accept or Deny Potential Renters
Once you complete the tenant screening for your Las Vegas rental home, you need to let the renter know about the decision.
Whether you accept or reject the request to rent your property, it’s best to document the decision by sending an email. You can then call up the accepted renter to guide them through the lease signing process.
You’re not obliged to provide the reasons why you turned down a renter’s application. But, if the renter insists, you must provide a legal reason. It’s best to be familiar with the Fair Housing Act to avoid the risk of denying a tenant on the basis of gender, race, and religion.
Rental applicants can be rejected if they can’t meet the required income level or carry a bad credit score.
Bottom line
Not getting paid and ending up with a damaged Las Vegas rental home are some of the risks faced by every landlord. That’s why tenant screening must be a priority. If you have little time to screen tenants, you can always hire a reliable property management company such as B&R Property Management. Call us today!