Placing tenants requires a strategic and detailed process. You’re looking for more than just any tenant; you’re looking for a tenant who can be counted on to pay rent on time, take care of your property, and follow the terms of the lease agreement.
Working with an experienced Oakland property management team like ours at Marquardt will make the process far more efficient and effective. Everything is easier, from marketing to those prospective tenants to screening applications. We have processes in place already. And, they work.
There’s a lot that contributes to the success and profitability of your investment experience, but nothing will have a larger impact than your ability to attract, place, and retain great residents. When you have good tenants in place, you can count on a pleasant and profitable rental experience.
Here’s how we help landlords with placing great tenants.
Tenant Placement Starts with Marketing
When we’re advertising your Oakland rental home, our goal is always to create a customized marketing plan that helps your property stand out among all the others on the market. We understand the importance of generating interest and giving people a reason to schedule a showing. Our goal is to attract plenty of exposure so that tenants seeking rental homes will consider what we have to offer with your property.
Good marketing requires an eye-catching and detailed description as well as professional-level photos. It requires an understanding of where to place the listings and how to syndicate them across multiple platforms. You’ll also have exposure on our own website, where tenants can read about your property, look through photos, and contact us to schedule a showing.
There’s a lot of competition for great tenants, even in a market as competitive as this one. We make sure your marketing plan gives you the advantage you need to find good renters quickly. You can expect our marketing plan to include:
- A rent-ready home. We’ll make some recommendations on cosmetic improvements and updates that will help us rent your home quicker and for more money.
- A competitive rental value. We price your property according to the market, the location, your property condition, and what it has to offer.
- Outstanding photos. This is the first thing tenants will look at – your pictures. We make them count.
- A concise and detailed listing that includes pertinent information and the correct contact details.
We follow up with anyone who has questions or is interested in a showing.
Oakland Property Managers and Consistent Qualifying Criteria
It’s very important to establish a set of standards that must be met before a tenant can be approved to rent your property. As Oakland property managers, we understand the legal restrictions in place and the necessity for a consistent and uniform screening process.
It’s very easy to make a legal mistake. It’s also very easy to overlook the necessary requirements that tell you a tenant is qualified. For example, industry best practices say that tenants must earn at least three times the rental amount in order to be approved for a property.
This is pretty standard across the country, and we always follow best practices and fair housing guidelines when establishing a set of consistent qualifying rental criteria. Most tenants understand that they will have to meet reasonable requirements before they can be offered a lease agreement.
Having a documented set of criteria written by your property managers will protect you against any potentially expensive fair housing mistakes. When we are screening tenants, we cannot and will not consider things like race, religion, disability, or familial status. A documented set of criteria will demonstrate the objective standards that every applicant must meet. It will show that we are consistent when we’re screening applicants.
Property managers provide a screening process that’s mostly automated and data-driven. There’s no opportunity to choose one application over another for subjective reasons. We provide all prospective applicants with our standard criteria before they view the property or complete an application. They should know what we are looking for before they go through the process with us and pay an application fee.
Collecting a Signed and Complete Application from All Adult Tenants
Part of our process is to ensure we have complete applications from anyone who wants to rent your home. It’s important that every adult 18 years of age or older completes and signs the online application we provide.
This is essential because we need to have all the relevant information before beginning the screening process. Another important reason for the signed application is that we need to get every applicant’s consent before running credit reports, verifying income, and conducting reference checks.
We won’t accept incomplete applications, and we help tenants to understand that not answering a question or providing a supporting document will only delay their application and possibly lead to us rejecting it altogether.
Tenant Screening Best Practices in Oakland
We always want to look at the complete picture when we’re screening for a great tenant. Here’s where we start:
- Verify income and employment
- Check credit and financial stability
- Look for eviction history
- Talk to former landlords and examine rental history
This type of screening will reduce the risk to owners when we’re placing tenants. Highly qualified tenants will result in fewer evictions, less property damage, zero lease violations, and rent that’s paid on time consistently every month.
Having a property manager screen and place tenants for you will also reduce liability. For example, did you know that for most rental properties in Oakland, you cannot screen for criminal background before a lease agreement is offered?
The standards we set when placing tenants are high, and we look for applicants who can meet them. Tenants have a lot of protections in California, so we want to be absolutely sure we’re placing a resident who will be able to meet their obligations and contribute to a great rental experience.
Need some help placing good tenants? Please contact us at Marquardt Property Management. We provide expert property management in Oakland, the East Bay and in surrounding communities like Hayward, Pittsburg, and Concord.
