Useful tips for anyone who has decided to rent out his property.
We are in contact with both parties involved in our daily work and experience allows us to state that the profile of each client is clearly readable at the first meeting.
“Everything is very simple as long as it does not affect you personally” – this phrase accurately describes the situation when the owner has decided to rent out personal property on his own. Therefore we have prepared a small guide with things and questions that need to be clarified during the meeting and after it with a potential tenant. These tips can help You to avoid unpleasant situations for the future and establish successful cooperation.
For Owners: How to prepare for an appointment
Before inviting potential tenants to look the apartment, it is desirable to clean it carefully and ventilate it. If you don’t do this, you may lose 70% of those who are interested. But what is very important – it is possible to lose the best tenants, who respect cleanliness and tidiness. And exactly respectful attitude to the owner’s property is what the renter wants.
If more people have applied within one day, plan your visits with a time interval – 20 to 25 minutes for an apartment, or 30 to 40 minutes for a house. If it is enough for the apartment to study and talk about the equipment of the apartment and preliminary utility payments, then in the house case it will be important for the tenant to find out details of the heating system too, which may take more time.
It is worth being prepared for detailed answers about the public transport available nearby. In 99% of cases it is important and doesn’t matter the tenant is looking for an apartment or a house.
Ideally, if You plan to show apartment or house in the light time of the day – thus avoiding misunderstandings after meeting, in case, something wasn’t noticed in the dark. In the light time of the day everything looks different, both the home itself looks more pleasant, and the North/South sides and other nuances are clearly understandable.
What to ask to a tenant
Based on experience, You should ask direct questions. Also feel free to find out where potential tenants work or earn income. These things may seem uncomfortable, but believe us, it will make life easier for you in the future, and will allow you to deal with situations if a tenant’s life has made corrections to his financial situation, but not for the better.
Here’s a list of things to find out:
1. For how long does the tenant plan to enter a contract?
This allows to understand the intentions of the potential tenant and the importance of stability.
2. How many family members will live in rented housing?
There are times when there are too many people planning to live in the apartment, so it is important to ask how everyone plans to live together or in what composition.
3. Which family members are planning to live in?
There are often 4 people planning to live in a two-room apartment. Basically, it would be nothing special, if the apartment is spacious. But finding out the details there might reveal that the potential quartet isn’t both parents and 2 minor children, but, for example, Mom, her young boyfriend, an adult 20-year-old daughter with her boyfriend. In this situation, you should carefully consider how successful your cooperation could be in the long term.
4. Are there any pets?
If this is important for owner, then You should find out if potential tenants have any pets. You can take into account the fact that pets are in more than 60% of households in Latvia. Find out what kind of pet the potential tenant has, if any. For example, leaving a hasky dog in a one-room apartment if its owner is mostly outside the house wouldn’t be wise. This dog breed demands a lot of activity for it, but staying at home alone it can start gnawing the housing inventory.
5. Where do tenants work?
This allows to understand in how stable company tenants are working at a given moment. Also allows You to understand the rhythm of working day, so You are able to understand how much time the tenant will spend at home or outside.
6. How far is the workplace?
If a tenant’s workplace is at the other end of the city, experience shows the cooperation will not last for long because, sooner or later, it becomes more difficult for a tenant to drive work-house.
What more to explore
Once all potential tenants have been met and interviewed, we encourage you to explore the information available on web and social networks. It is an instrument for detecting mismatches about what You have spoke. Often pictures posted on social networks show a completely different story. You may find complaints and feedback about that person. After obtaining additional information, new criteria arise, according to which You can evaluate whom to entrust to live in your property.
Finally, last suggestion. Make clear your position regarding to the agreement obligations to the tenant. For how long will you wait, if any agreement deadlines will be delayed and how will you handle such a situation? Mostly, those tenants who realize they won’t be able to meet their commitments fall back in a natural way.
Secure property renting, saving the most important thing – your time
Our 20 years of experience in real estate allows us to say that we are able to select most suitable tenants for our clients. It is a system built up for years and based on knowledge. In addition, it can be confirmed by any customer, whether domestic or foreign, who has used our services. You can find out more about RENT/LEASE here or by contacting us.
03.2020.
