Rental Market: Should you be Selective with Tenants?

If you have a home that you are trying to rent you are probably interested in finding tenants as soon as possible. After all, tenants pay rent and this money goes straight to you. In some cases, although not advised, you may use this rent money to pay the mortgage on the property. If this is the case, you are probably in a big hurry.

In today’s day and age, there are rental markets all over the United States that are hurting. Are you dealing with this? If so, you may need to reevaluate what you are doing. One of the most common questions is whether or not you should become less selective. In other words, should you take a risk and rent to somebody who may not be the best tenant.

If possible, you want to stick to your normal tenant selection process for as long as you can. When you make concessions it may end up harming you in the long run. For instance, you may decide to rent to a tenant with a history of missing payments. And since you are in a bind, you are more willing than usual to give them a chance. While this may work out, it may also work against you. It is possible that the tenant will live in your home for a month or so, never pay rent, and then skip out. In turn, you do not get any money, are left in the same position, and missed out on several months of advertising and seeking quality tenants. As you can see, if you lower your selectivity standards it may harm you in the end.

There is no denying that times are tough. For this reason, some rental markets are not holding up well. If possible, avoid giving in and renting to less than desirable tenants. It is tempting, but if you stay patient, you will find the right person soon enough.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 4:54 am and is filed under Rental Market. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.