Having successfully purchased your own small or large apartment building, sooner or later you’ll have a vacancy that needs to filled with a good tenant.

The biggest threat to any well run multi-family building, is bringing on board a bad tenant. In case of apartment buildings, one bad apple can definitely spoil the bunch.

As the owner of the property, any vacancy can be filled by you, or you can contract it out to the many landlord tenant screening services now available online.

As a former property owner, learning about the tenant verification process should be on your to do list, if you’re to be successful in real estate investing.

Tenant screening is not that difficult, as long as you take your emotions and empathy out of the process, and apply this five steps, and some common sense.

With a good renter verification process in place, you can eliminate most of the tenant problems that are well known to many landlords.

While any vacancy in your property is worrisome, you should pay attention to your pool of potential tenants, rather than to how much you’re going to make.

A well screened tenant will pay dividends well into the future, while a bad one can cost you, your property investment.

I have developed a step by step process that can be used by any landlord, to screen potential tenants most effectively.

✔ Your First Contact

Your screening process should begin right from the first time you contact the potential tenant, and this can be either on the phone or through email.

This first contact can help you eliminate at least 50% of the weak applicants. There are some qualifying questions you need to seek answers to, before even making appointment to see the vacant apartment.

1- Write down the full name of the applicant, asking for correct spelling of the first and last name.

2- Ask, the reason for moving. Jot down the answers, as you might use it to effectively cross reference the tenants answers later on when you meet in person.

3- Ask, how many occupants will be staying in the apartment. If more than one, get the relationship status for the other occupants.

4- Ask, will all the occupants be responsible for the rent

5- Ask, if they have pets, and how many

6- Ask if they smoke, or do any of the occupants smoke

If you notice, I omitted the question about good credit from the initial questions during the first contact. While having good credit is a good sign of a potential desirable tenant, other factors do come into play, like behaviour patterns.

Any potential renter that refuses to answer your questions, should be a red flag in the screening process. It’s better to stop the tenant screening process, if you get any hesitation on the part of the renter to answer your questions.

If they give you headache answering simple questions, imagine what will happen once they comfortably move into your property.

If you’re satisfied with some of the answers, you then make an appointment to show the empty apartment.

You need to insist all the occupants for the empty space be present, during the showing of the apartment.

You want to establish clear guidelines that your time is valuable, and this is the best way to start making that point clear.

✔ Property and Apartment Walk-thru

As a landlord, it’s your duty to make sure that the empty apartment if clear of all debris, and tenant ready. If you demand efficiency from your tenants, you should at least try to do the same.

As the landlord, make sure you arrive on time, and take note of when the potential tenants arrives. If they arrived late, mentally note that your rent might also be arriving late, from time to time.

Contrary to what some might think, appearance do tell a great deal about a person. Do the potential tenants appear clean? If not, your apartment will be treated the same way.

If they arrived in a car or truck, watch the cleanliness of the vehicle. Dirty automobile might also mean dirty apartment.

While must potential renters would try to behave appropriately, watch for little signs of difficulty, during the showing process.

Be polite, courteous and most observant, of your potential tenants. Walk thru the apartment in a professional manner, and point out all the amenities that comes with the rental.

If the renters are roommates or a couple, I usually give them a few minutes alone in the apartment to think things thru, before asking if they like it or not.

✔ The Rental Application

You need a good rental application, and I have included two sources. One is a rental application template, and the other is a rental application form. You can also buy a package of rental forms, from your local stationery store.

Each occupant of the apartment, must be made to fill out a separate application form.

You need to have a screening fee plus latest credit report fee, for each applicant. Be careful accepting credit reports from a potential tenant. You need to procure the credit reports from your own sources.

It’s always a good sign when renters insist on filling out the application right there in the empty apartment.

It’s also better, to schedule multiple appointments with potential tenants all at the same time. If you have a well run and decent apartment for rent, tenants would bend over backwards, to be considered for the vacancy.

Before even running a credit check, look over the rental application form, and see if you can spot any inconsistencies using your notes from the first contact over the phone or email.

Please do not judge people based on race or sexual preference, but if you have a gut feeling that something is not right during the first meeting with the potential tenants, honor that feeling and look for other tenants.

Our intuition or sixth sense, warns us of potential trouble down the road, but most of us fail to heed that warning.

✔ Handling Successful Approvals

The best part is when you have an applicant that has jumped through all your hoops, and everything checks out ok. Deliver the news in a congratulatory tone of voice.

If you over-looked any infractions in their credit report, let them know about it. This is the time to set the place and time for the lease signing.

You need to instruct your tenants how you want your initial rent and deposit. From my experience, never accept personal check for this crucial first financial transaction between you and the tenant.

Insist on only accepting bank certified check, or cash if you feel it’s safe to do so.

Because if the personal check bounces, you’ll still have to go through the whole eviction process if the lease has been signed, and you already gave out the keys to the apartment.

You should have on file, recent photo-copies of your tenants identification cards. State ID or Sate drivers license would suffice.

✔ Lease Signing Process

You should come prepared with two copies of the lease agreement. Only give set of keys to the occupants of the apartment. If two people will be occupying the apartment, only give two sets of keys.

While the tenant has the right to change the locks, insist it must be of comparable or better value, than the one you installed.

I urge you to video tape the empty apartment, while they’re there to sign the lease. I used to keep video records of the new apartment, right before the tenant moved in.

In the video, document the paint color, and the condition of the walls, appliances and floor.

Most times, I have the new tenants help me with the video recording, and that usually ensures proper behavior once they move in. I usually let them know, my lawyer insist on keeping the video on file, for each of my tenants.

Go over the documents they brought with them, and if satisfied, go ahead with the lease signing. Transfer the keys, and congratulate them on moving into a nice property.

This is also a good time to let them know how you handle repair request, and the process involved. If you have a special number for repairs, this is the time to give it out.

Finding good tenants is certainly possible, but you have to have a workable process to follow. People are decent by nature, but some would take advantage of you, if you have a weak tenant screening process in place.

As a landlord, you should look at every new tenant as a potential investment, you just want to make sure you’re both a match for each other.

While you provide comfortable decent accommodation for rental income, potential tenants are obligated to follow your building rules, and the best time to get that message through, is during the tenant verification process.