1. Effective Advertising
The first step in attracting quality tenants is creating an effective advertisement for your property. Use high-quality photos and provide detailed information about the property’s features, location, and nearby amenities. Highlight unique selling points that may attract potential tenants like proximity to public transport or schools if it’s a family home.
2. Pre-Screening Process
Before arranging viewings, pre-screen potential tenants via phone or application forms to understand their needs and circumstances better. This step can help you save time by filtering out those who don’t meet basic requirements such as income level or desired move-in date.
3. Property Viewings
During property viewings, observe prospective tenants’ behaviour and attitude towards the house. Their punctuality for appointments and their respect towards your property during these visits can give you insights into their reliability as potential renters.
4. Background Checks
After identifying prospective tenants who seem suitable based on initial impressions:
Request permission to conduct background checks which may include credit history checks (with their consent), employment verification, and previous landlord references.
Contact their previous landlords to inquire about payment history, cleanliness habits, adherence to rules/regulations among other relevant information. Remember that performing thorough background checks is crucial in avoiding problematic tenants down the line.
5. Assessing Applications
Evaluate each applicant’s suitability based on criteria such as stable employment with sufficient income (usually three times the rent), positive references from previous landlords if available; clean credit history with no major red flags; no criminal records or history of eviction etc.
6. Tenancy Agreement & Bond Lodgement
Once you’ve selected a suitable candidate:
Prepare a legally binding tenancy agreement outlining all terms/conditions of renting your property in compliance with New Zealand’s Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Collect bond (typically four weeks’ rent) at tenancy commencement which should be lodged with Tenancy Services within 23 working days using their online system (www.tenancy.govt.nz).
Finding quality tenants isn’t always easy but it’s worth investing time upfront rather than dealing with issues later on that could have been avoided through careful selection process at start.
At PropertySage we understand how critical this process is so we offer comprehensive tenant selection services including advertising properties effectively; conducting rigorous pre-screening processes; arranging & managing viewings; carrying out extensive background checks etc., all designed to find best possible match between our clients’ properties & potential renters ensuring peace of mind for owners while maximizing rental returns from their investments.
The opinions and research contained in this article are provided for information purposes only, are intended to be general in nature, and do not take into account your financial situation or goals.
