You have a property you want to rent out, its looking fabulous and is fully compliant with all current regulations, all you need is the ‘perfect’ tenant.
So, what is your ‘perfect’ tenant?
- 5ft 10
- Blond
- Blue Eyes
- 30 years old
- Works in an office
- Earned £30,000 per year
- Doesn’t smoke
- Doesn’t drink
- No pets
- Doesn’t exist!
While I am sure there are plenty of people who do fit that description, they may have already been snapped up by another Landlord.
Getting the right tenant is a bit like using a dating app, it is a question of trying to match your ideals with the applicants, but be realistic.
You do not have to take the first applicant that walks in, but don’t be so dismissive that your property lies empty for months on end. It’s not good business sense and you will be missing out on good money.
Consider what is important to you as a Landlord; you want someone who is going to pay the rent, look after the property, stay a long time and not cause any problems.
Let’s look at those in turn.
Affordability
The normal calculation is that the tenants’ income should be 2.5 times the rent. So, if the rent is £800 then your potential tenants need to earning £2000 a month. Using a referencing company, allows us to check that the information provided by applicants is verified. They will also carry out credit checks looking not only at credit scores but whether there are County Court Judgements or Bankruptcies in the tenants’ background.
Care
Will they look after your property?
How can you tell when you first meet them?
If they have some experience of renting then they should have some experience of how to care for a property but really the only way is to inspect the property on 3-4 monthly basis, much easier to nip any problems in the bud and assess the situation before it becomes a problem.
Longevity
Tenancies can be long and they can be short, life and situations can change and it is often out of the hands of tenants and Landlords. So, if a tenant has to leave after 6 months don’t take it personally.
There are things you can do to encourage long term tenants, a big part of this is ensuring there is good quality communication between you and the tenants. But at the end of the day people’s situations and needs do change.
Nuisance
Again, how can you tell if your prospective tenant is a huge fan of ‘drum and bass’ (is that right or am I showing my age) or likes to practice flamenco at midnight. To be honest you can’t but there are some practical things you can think of.
If you have a flat and there is an elderly couple below would you really want to put in a family with 2 young and very active children. Possibly not!
Do you always get it right when you choose a tenant?
In short no! Sometimes Landlords get it wrong, sometimes agents get it wrong, and you may not realise it is wrong for months or even years but there will be a point when the tenancy ends and the search starts again.
A good rule of thumb is to consider which issues you are flexible on and which you are not. For example, having a flexible policy on pets, you might not be ok with having dogs or cats in your property but would you consider a reptile or some fish?
So is the ideal tenant out there, yes, they may not be the ‘perfect’ tenant but they will be ideal at that moment in time.
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