If you want to break things down to bare bones, tenant placement services are the process of matching a qualified tenant to a rental property. While it seems like this would be a fairly straightforward process, a lot of work goes into effective tenant placement. In fact, tenant placement services may be the most important stage in ensuring a quality tenant/landlord relationship so that rental properties are well-maintained and offer the optimal return on investment. As a property owner, you may choose to manage tenant placement services independently, or you may choose to work with a professional property manager or realtor. So then, what are tenant placement services and how can you ensure that you find quality tenants for your property?
Tenant placement services encompass all the earliest steps in renting a property and involve much more than having a tenant sign a lease and collect the keys. You might make the argument that tenant placement services start as early as preparing a property for rental. After all, the presentation of the property is critical to attracting quality tenants; as such, staging the property is critical. Before you even begin to look for quality tenants you want to make sure your property is in tip-top condition which means you may need to clean, paint, repair, or even remodel. A well-maintained, clean, and aesthetically pleasing property is more likely to attract multiple qualified tenant applications.
Once the property is ready for the market, the next stage of tenant placement involves advertising the property to your target audience. Property managers often work with professional photographers to take high-quality pictures of the property for marketing purposes. Prospective tenants are likely to attend to property advertisements that include pictures more than to those that do not. But effective property marketing involves more than just pretty pictures. Rental value assessments that include thorough market research ensure that your property will garner the optimal rental income. After the property is advertised, the next stage in tenant placement is meeting and screening potential tenants.
The screening process of tenant placement services should always include reference and credit checks. Knowing that your tenant has a successful tenancy history and also the financial means to pay rent every month is crucial. Once a qualified tenant is identified, lease negotiations come next. Setting the terms of a lease can depend on your local laws which will vary depending on whether you are renting a commercial or residential property. Working with a qualified professional who understand screening and leasing processes can help you find the perfect tenant.
Now, you might think that once the lease has been signed that tenant placement services are done. However, tenant placement also includes move-in condition inspections, collection of security and/or pet deposits, and other administrative tasks. As you can see, tenant placement services are lengthy and require specialized property management knowledge including local laws and regulations. As such, working with professional property managers is always advisable when you have little experience with being a landlord.