When you have a vacant rental property, it is essential that you get the property rented quickly. The longer the house remains empty, the more money you will lose. Although renting your property as quickly as possible is important, you don’t want to rent to just anyone. You want to find prospective tenants who will pay their rent and plan to remain in the house long-term. The only way to do this is to know what to look for in a prospective tenant’s rental property application.

Hiring a property management company is your best bet to getting ideal tenants, but if you are managing your properties on your own, here are several things to look for to ensure you rent your property to the best possible tenant.

#1 Make Sure They Can Afford the Rent

You only want to rent to someone who can afford the rent. If you don’t know how much prospective tenants make, you can’t be sure they will have the rent when it is due. It might be good to ask prospective tenants for their last few pay stubs. This will give you a clear idea of how much they make, so you can be sure that they can afford the rent. If the prospective tenant doesn’t make enough to cover the rent, ask if they have someone with sufficient income who can co-sign the lease.

#2 Make Sure They Are Stable

The best tenant will be someone who lives a relatively stable life. There should be a section on the rental application for prospective tenants to list their employment history for the last five years. If they have had several jobs, it is a red flag.

Also, there should be a section on the application for prospective tenants’ to list their previous addresses over the past five years. If they have moved often, you can’t be sure they will remain in your rental property long-term.

#3 Check With Former Landlords Listed On the Rental Application

If this isn’t a tenant’s first rental, it is a good idea to contact their previous landlord to ensure they have a history of paying their rent on time. You don’t want to rent to someone if their former landlord states that they had to chase the tenant for the rent every month.

#4 Use the Information On the Application To Run a Background Check

You should never rent to anyone without performing a background check first. The background check will let you know whether the prospective tenant has a criminal history and what they were charged with. The last thing you want is someone participating in illegal activities in your rental property.

A background check is also necessary to ensure prospective tenants haven’t been evicted from a rental property in the past. A previous eviction is a red flag, and it is best to find a tenant who doesn’t have an eviction on their record.

#5 Use the Information On the Application To Run a Credit Check

Credit checks are a good idea because the information will give you an idea of how responsible prospective tenants are with paying their bills. If a prospective tenant has a poor credit score, you can’t be sure that they will pay their rent on time.

If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of going through rental applications to weed out poor prospective tenants, you should consider hiring a property management company. Property management companies have the skill and experience to find the best tenant possible, saving you time and energy.