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Every landlord or property owner regards their property with as much risk averseness as every business operator keen on minimizing losses and maximizing profits regards their business. While it is a bad business to have your rentals vacant or unoccupied, there is all mistakes and danger of renting out your property to anyone. Think of a bank’s credit department whose primary business is to advance loans. While it is good business to have people queuing for loans, there is all the risk with granting loans to anyone seeking them; some are not creditworthy.
As a landlord, your problem is to have your property occupied and make reasonable profits with fewer risks. Therefore, you find a merger between contacting potential tenants and ensuring the risk is kept at the lowest level. It is impossible to have a zero-risk tenant because life happens even to the most reliable folks. We would better fill vacant properties with people who will be burdensome, unreliable, and dramatic.
And you may be asking yourself how to know a good tenant from a bad one. Can it be based on your preference or based on their looks? This is where “looks are deceitful” is made very accurate. Honest and objective facts can help you know that one is a potentially suitable tenant while another is not. Verifiable facts like credit history, employment status, interpersonal skills, criminal records, et cetera, are facts you can prioritize as you work towards knowing whom to consider and prioritize in your property.
Once you have made yourself clear on whom you consider a good tenant, the next big assignment is how to find those good tenants. The market is mixed up. You are wading like the rest of the landlords, and the tenants are a mixed multitude of wheat and tares. The following tips will help you reduce risk and fill up your property with good tenants:
1. Work With a Reputable Property Manager

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Reputable property managers, like Nashville Tn property management, have done great work finding good tenants for landlords and establishing a very professional mode of operation. The more you leave your operations to a property management company, the more seriously the tenants will take the non-negotiables they must keenly check on. Property managers have their methods of enforcing contractual relationships with tenants, which will always weed out risky non-serious tenants and attract those ready for serious business.
A property manager can also remind you of the various improvements that resonate well with state of the art. Tenants want to see dynamic fittings that solve their needs. Employing a proper manager translates to fewer mistakes that can cost you a dime, hence increased profitability.
2. Enhance Quality of Your Service

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It should be clear that good tenants love good things. As much as you want good tenants, you must not forget the good tenants—those who pay in time, who do not cause chaos with neighbors, and who are keen on being in the good books with the credit reference bureau(CRB)—are very much concerned with value for their money. Some property owners lose their good tenants simply because they are not good landlords.
It is one thing to get good tenants; it is another to keep the good tenants. If you can’t keep them, you will struggle with rejects from landlords whose services are better than yours. Excellent service is the only way to enhance the retention of good tenants. Give them a service that will make them want to work with your subsidiary.
3. Carry Background Check on Potential Tenants

A background check is crucial when dealing with new people, especially in a business environment. This must be an objective process based on facts, not mere values judgments or personal prejudice. The following should be your concerns:
- Potential tenant’s rental history. You could speak to their previous landlords to get their honest opinions about them.
- Employment history. Consistent employment means increased ability to pay for the things you want in a tenant.
- Credit reports. Bad credit history or listing on CRB suggests a risky person deal with.
- Criminal history. You would not want your good tenants exposed to criminals at home.
- Visa status. This is especially true when dealing with foreigners or expatriates who may leave soon to return to their home country.
Nevertheless, a bit of caution is needful here. Everyone has a history. A lot of good people are former criminals who have changed. An honest discussion on anything you are uncomfortable about with your potential tenant could help you access an impasse that most landlords don’t access due to presumptive biases.
4. Competitive Pricing

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Pricing is also an excellent means to find good tenants. You see, good tenants are very reasonable people and rational consumers who don’t want to operate as outliers in the market. They know very well to differentiate between fair pricing and exploitation. As much as you want to make your profits and service your mortgage, don’t try doing it by overly hiked fees. To be indifferent about the prices charged should be evidence of a risky tenant.
5. Trust Your Gut Check
The gut check has always been used traditionally with meaningful success. If your instincts suggest otherwise than what meets the eye, don’t be afraid to endorse it. Gut check, or instinct, must also be based on reasonable foundations. For instance, if a potential tenant has a history of moving out of occupancy in quick succession, or if they smell tobacco but profess to be non-smokers, that may be an excellent ground to endorse the direction of your instincts.
Conclusion
Every landlord has two significant concerns to deal with if they want to make reasonable steps from their rental properties. These include occupying them and ensuring the occupancy is granted to non-risky tenants who will respect the contractual relationship and pay promptly. It is one thing to know who can be considered a safe tenant and another to find them for your rentals. The above tips will help you find good tenants and help you retain them.