Unlocking the Truth: How Property Management Companies Can Help You Find the Perfect Tenant

Have you been struggling to find prospective tenants for a long time? There’s a risk you’re making things more difficult than they need to be for yourself. May we suggest you delegate to a property management company. We used the word delegate and not abdicate as you will continue to be in control and have the final say when working with Buttonwood Property Management. You will not relinquish power and decision making yet can have professional property managers rent and manage your investment.

Property Management companies are especially helpful if you reside outside the province of Ontario or Canada all together. Property managers prepare the property for rental, screen and thoroughly vet the prospective tenants, maintain the relationship with the tenants and take care of routine duties including collecting rent, handling maintenance issues, and 24/7 emergencies.

Take the time to read this guide and discover how property management companies can help you find tenants and manage your rental property.

How Do Property Managers Choose Tenants

The managers can swiftly discover new tenants and identify dependable and responsible candidates when a tenant vacates. 

Read out the following things that property managers do while choosing tenants:

Let The Tenant Know About The Screening Procedure

The management company explains the screening procedure to a prospective tenant who expresses a desire for the property. The property managers inform tenants about the required documentation to complete an application form. 

This consumes less time. Because the tenants who consider themselves non-eligible will leave before the screening. 

Utilize A Tool To Collect Information

The tenants provide necessary data via a rental application, including:

• Name and date of birth
• Contact information, including phone and email, emergency contacts, and home address
• Details about the home, such as the presence of pets or other relatives
• Estimated day of occupancy 
• Information about employment, including job title, length of employment, monthly gross income, and extra sources of income
• Housing history, including dates of prior leases, contact information for the landlord, and the reason for relocating
• References that can attest to your background and personality
• Written authorization for theproperty management to contact past landlords and employers, do financial and reference checks, and more

Check Credit

The management evaluates the candidate’s financial status and history once it has done a credit check. The results of the credit check will include the following:

• The applicant’s credit rating
• Total debt
• On-time payment history

It can also show whether the tenant has ever gone bankrupt or if there is a collection record.

Check Their Salary, Occupation, And Provided Details

Here comes the crucial step. The management company verifies information provided in the rental application form during this phase. Verification of the job, salary, and residence history is part of this process.

Finish The Tenant Interview

The final phase involves a phone or in-person interview to clarify any issues or ask about any remaining concerns. After completing the steps mentioned earlier, the management company will react to the candidates.

The property managers either inform them that their application has been rejected. Or they’ll inform them that their request has been accepted. They may outline the next steps for the lease agreement and pay any expenses, such as deposits.

You’ll see two options about the screening process.

• The one is that the whole rental process may draw in renters who are serious and desire a long-term, professional connection
• The second option is implementing a thorough screening procedure to weed out applications from unsuitable tenants

The problem lies in keeping the right candidate and how? Below are a few steps about how a respectable property management business will attract and retain quality renters. Check them out:

• The property managers should present a thorough introductory tour of the rental home so potential renters may ask questions
• Discussion about details of the contract with the renter and engaging in any necessary negotiations can make it easy
• Respond quickly to maintenance issues and perform fixes
• Always make sure that renters can pay their bills with ease
• Make them comfortable by telling renters about your help when there is an emergency
• Arrange specific services, such as appliance maintenance, for the renter as needed

Check out Your Five-Step Guide to Screening Tenants in The Greater Toronto Area:

Services Provided By Property Management For Renters

Renter management organizations frequently oversee more than simply the selection of renters. You’ll be satisfied after knowing that, along with managing the rentals themselves, they also handle issues with tenants and rent collection. So why be worried?

Before you employ a reputable property management company to handle your tenant selection, follow these steps to ensure that they share your goals:

• Inquire about their tenant selection procedure
• To what extent do they employ credit checks? Do they run their own (or) accept externally provided credit reports?
• Inquire as to how, if at all, you will participate in the tenant selection procedure
• Inquire about their historical eviction rates
• Ask about the average vacancy duration for their properties

By asking these five questions, you may get a fair picture of what to anticipate from the organization regarding tenant selection. 

You can choose the property services you want to sign up for. The services provided by property management businesses often include the following:

Advertise The Property

Even a small business needs to be advertised on a smaller or larger level. Hence, your property manager advertises the availability of your property to attract renters. Now you know that this era of technology is going so fast. 

Again networking is going to lead in the case of advertising. A smart property manager will search the internet, where many potential tenants seek rental postings.

In contrast, newspaper-categorized advertising is still very common in rural regions. The best ways to discover renters in your home’s neighbourhood will be known to a skilled property manager.

Search for Tenants

To gain assistance in selecting the ideal renters for their rental property, some landlords choose to hire a property management business. Finding tenants may take time and effort. Moreover, you may need more time because of other tasks or enterprises you are doing.

Hence, you can easily hand over your task to property management and take updates from them. In any case, selecting the ideal tenants is among the most crucial steps in renting. 

Make sure your list of requirements for a renter matches the one provided by the property management business before choosing to deal with them.

What characteristics do property management businesses want in a tenant? The response to that query will vary depending on the particular business you deal with. You can also add your own requirements about having the best tenant.

Collect Applications

Property managers collect applications from interested candidates. Tenants submit their applications either online or in person after watching an ad. The managers work on these applications and decide the best fit.

Screen And Interview Tenants

We understand that Canada is a vast country. Extracting favourite tenants is a difficult task. Hence your property managers perform this crucial activity and find new renters for your properties.

Screening potential tenants is a necessary step in locating one. What do property managers prefer in a tenant for your properties? A potential renter’s eligibility as a tenant for your home will be greatly influenced by the following:

• History and credit checks
• Phone companies and personal profiles to confirm that they would maintain your property with respect and pay the monthly rent.
• Their prior rental history
• Bankruptcy
• And other facts

Tenant turnover is costly. Instead of hurrying a renter into a property only to cover a gap, it is always worthwhile to take the time now to select a tenant you’ll maintain long-term.

When determining if the renter was what the property managers had hoped for, they focus on two key factors:

Rent Obligations: Did the renter make regular and timely rent payments? 

The State Of The Building: A responsible property manager aims to conduct regular property inspections. This helps them determine how well the item is being cared for and how it will seem when returned.

Every landlord enjoys the sound of a renter that meets all the requirements and wants to stay. Property managers make care to propose a new lease and begin any negotiations well two to three months before the existing lease expires to maintain these renters.

It’s true that a thorough evaluation and screening procedure eliminates vacancies and guards against unpleasant shocks.

Sign the Lease Agreement

With a strong lease agreement, property managers must set expectations. They specify the rules and regulations that the renters must adhere to, including:

• The rent due date and any late fines you want to impose. 
• The details of who will be residing in the home

As well as any other rules you may have must be discussed in detail between property managers and the new tenant. It is essential to emphasize what you believe constitutes a reason for eviction.

Collect Rent

Your property manager is responsible for ensuring the renters pay their rental payments on time and in full each month. If they don’t, the manager can begin eviction proceedings.

How do property managers make the rent payment procedure as simple as possible? Rent collection online and accepting various payment options make it easier for them to manage several properties.

It guarantees that they’ll get rent payments on time each month. This is done by encouraging renters to pay their rent on time and lowering the possibility of misunderstandings. 

On the other hand, complicated and unpleasant rent payment procedures, including sending cheques or cash payments, hinder tenants from staying in homes that keep them from paying rent how they want to.

Manage Repairs

Because the most sought-after renters frequently have refined tastes, it is crucial to maintain your home to keep it looking its best. 

• The inside of the apartment or house
• The outside of the building
• And any shared spaces or gardens 

All of these elements should all be considered by your property management when assessing the entire look.

To stop any harm, this also entails promptly answering any repair requests. Your property manager should check for any issues after each renter vacates the premises. Before introducing the property to potential tenants, your estate manager takes care of them.

Manage Tenant Complaints

Everybody wants a satisfactory conclusion when problems occur. The problems property managers frequently have with tenants have a few recurring patterns:

• There was never a reported issue with the property’s condition
• The renter was unable to make timely rent payments and now must evict the property

These problems are always primarily the result of poor communication. Because of this, the property managers ensure that there are lines of contact open between the tenant, their office as the property manager, and the property owner.

Don’t worry. It always boils down to the particular situation that everyone can agree on, whether the renter remains or leaves.

Check Out What Do Property Management Companies Do:

Find A Tenant Service By Property Management Company

Any information that is unclear should be followed up with questioning. Here is a list of questions that you must ask while hiring a property management company:

Ask What Their Eviction Rates Have Been Like in the Past

When picking a new manager, property management costs may either help or hinder the scenario! Keep in mind that most of the time, management businesses are compensated depending on the revenue from the renting of the property. 

Analyze their past rates and compare them with the current ones! Although they should be explicitly stated by the property management company and documented in the written agreement, there can be extra fees.

Examples Of Potential Charges

It’s crucial to be aware of the most typical property management expenses you can encounter before you inquire about one:

• Maintaining spare funds
• Evictions and court fees
• Costs of finding tenants
• Maintenance surcharges
• Emergency assistance is available 24/7
• Premature Contract Fee Termination
• Fees for Lease Renewal
• Property visitation charges
• Mark-ups on maintenance repairs and emergencies
• Move-in and Move-out inspection reports fees

Ask About Their Tenant’s Strict Screening Process

You will have a renter move out at some time throughout your rental. Your focus should be on having a mechanism for screening prospective tenants. Do you conduct background screenings and credit reports? Do prospective renters need to complete a rental contract? Do you confirm past employment?

How about getting in touch with former homeowners? You should know who has the ultimate say in whether a renter is approved to rent an apartment. 

Ask How Long Vacancies Typically Last for Their Properties

A property management agreement is something you should get into more carefully! Recognize the conditions of the contract, including the

• Duration of the term
• The possibility of renewal
• Procedure for terminating the contract in the event that either party is not pleased with the collaboration. 

It is recommended like any other contract you are signing to have it reviewed by your lawyer.

Ask What Types of Credit Checks They Use

When renting out a home, you should be sure you will get paid the money you are due. You can learn more about the tenant’s prior history of paying bills through a credit check. So, ask property management about the types of credit checks they may use while screening the tenants.

Ask How You Will Be Involved, if at All, in the Tenant Screening Process

It depends! Sometimes property managers take you in during the tenant screening process. Otherwise, the landlords set some tenant standards and ask property management companies to fulfil these while screening.

Hence ask them whether they’ll involve you in the screening process and what the procedure will be?

FAQs

Final Thoughts

Hiring the right property management company may help in achieving higher profitability. They will ensure you have the right tenants, rent is collected on time, lowering overall expenditures by proactively and professionally maintaining and addressing issues, and address potentially issues with tenants.

They truly understand how to attract and maintain the finest renters. Now you know the whole procedure of how property managers deliver their services. If you have any additional questions, feel free to connect with us on Buttonwood. Have a good day!