Find me the Best Tenant for my Olympia Rental Home! JBLM Property Management

One question people tend to ask us a lot is this: how will you find me the best tenant for my rental property? We have a process in place that ensures you get only the highest quality tenants.

It’s really important to do thorough credit checks. When we talk about checking credit, we aren’t only talking about the FICO score. That’s not always the most important thing to look for in a credit report. During your screening process, make sure you talk to previous landlords. You want landlord references so you’ll know what kind of tenant that person has been in the past. Call an applicant’s current and former landlords.

Debt to income ratio is something else to look at. You can have an applicant with a really high FICO score but tremendous debt. Out of control debt is going to make it hard for the tenant to pay rent and keep up with other bills. Make sure your tenant can actually afford to pay rent on time every month.

Criminal background checks are also important. You want to check the sexual offender registry as well because if you rent your property to a sexual offender, you’re going to have to explain that to the entire neighborhood. Be cautious.

Always look for red flags. When something doesn’t seem right, there’s probably a good reason you’re feeling hesitant. For example, if you have an applicant who wants to pay in cash for the first three months, you might stop and wonder what’s going to happen after month three. Make sure your tenant has a job and a stable income and employment history. These are all the sorts of things you have to check carefully in order to ensure you’re getting the best possible tenant into your rental property.

At Capital Properties, we like to say that reasonable people will be willing to pay reasonable rents. Only unreasonable people will pay unreasonable rent. That’s something to remember.

If you have any questions about how we choose a good tenant, or you need help with your screening process, please contact us at Capital Properties, and we’d be happy to help you.