landlord talking to prospective tenants

When you’re preparing to rent out your property, you must first know how to find good tenants. Quality tenants are those that protect your property, immediately communicate whenever they need assistance, and follow the guidelines set in your lease agreement. 

The process of finding ideal tenants can be overwhelming at first, but there are tips and tricks you can implement early on to make the process easier. We’ve shared industry insights on how to find good tenants, how to optimize your rental listings, and what to do when you think you’ve found the one for your rental property. 

What Makes a Good Tenant? 

A good tenant is generally someone who is trustworthy, reliable, and has good communication skills. To determine if an applicant has those characteristics, you can request a rental application and locally-allowed screening reports. 

With Avail, our system automatically performs landlord reference when screening applicants to gain insights on their rental history. You can also add screening reports, like a credit report, for information on their financial habits and ability to make on-time payments. With these resources, you can determine if the applicant meets your criteria for next steps.

However, it’s important to abide by Fair Housing laws to ensure you’re establishing a screening criteria that does not discriminate against applicants. 

Need more information on tenant screening best practices? Visit our Tenant Screening Resources page for free forms, educational articles, and more.

What Is the Best Way to Find Good Tenants for My Rental Property? 

Posting your property listing online is the best way to reach potential tenants. The majority of renters find their apartment online through platforms like Realtor.com®, HotPads, Trulia, Apartments.com, and other popular rental listing sites. Leveraging rental property management software, like Avail, that publishes your listing to all of these places at once can give you the widest reach and generate qualified leads to start screening.

Not only that, but posting your rental online can: 

  • Save yourself from a huge hassle: Rather than calling newspapers or posting “For Rent” signs in front of your rental, you can simply post a rental listing online to be viewed by tenants instantly.
  • Your rental listing ad is easily accessible: When tenants are apartment-hunting, they’re constantly sorting through hundreds of listings. Whether that’s in the morning or late evening, your rental listing is accessible at all times and allows potential leads to contact you right away.  Moving the tenant-landlord rapport online facilitates a faster and smoother process. 
  • The internet provides multimedia opportunities: You can post high quality photos, a walk-through video, or include a former tenant’s review to help tenants get a good idea on what your rental property offers and how it looks. 

How to Effectively Advertise Your Rental Unit

In order for you to find tenants, you need to advertise your rental unit effectively. Once you’ve decided where you’d like to post your rental listing online, the next step is setting it up to help you find tenants. 

Here’s how to advertise your property like a seasoned landlord: 

  1. Add staging furniture: You may have seen some landlords stage furniture in their rental photos and that’s because tenants are more willing to request a showing when they can picture themselves living there. 
  2. Take well-lit photos: You may think you need a professional camera to take photos, but a simple smartphone can provide the same results. Include photos of the interior and exterior of the property, each room and bathroom, as well as the backyard if possible. It’s best to take photos during the day to utilize natural light.
  3. Write an attention grabbing rental listing description: Your rental listing should provide a brief description of your property, which neighborhood it’s located in, if it’s pet-friendly, and highlight any amenities tenants can take advantage of.

How to Post a Rental Listing With Avail

With Avail, you can easily get your rental property in front of potential tenants, begin the screening process, and create a lease agreement in one place. 

Rental listings with Avail syndicate across a dozen sites and you’ll receive an instant notification when an inquiry is submitted. Once you’ve found a few tenants you think are a great fit for your property, you can begin the tenant screening process all in one place for free.   

What to Include in a Rental Listing

Tenants want to easily find all the information that’s important to them. Most tenants will only contact landlords that include clear photos of the unit. In addition to photos, this information should be front and center:

  •   Price
  •   Location
  •   Number of bedrooms and baths
  •   Amenities
  •   Security deposit amount
  •   Availability date
  •   Utilities included or not included
  •   Contact information

Here is an example on how to write a rental listing:

Apartment for Rent:

  • 45 Clark St.
  • Newly renovated, new appliances, W/D in unit
  • 2 BR/1BA
  • Central Heat/AC
  • No pets
  • $1900
  • Available Immediately
  • Call for more information

Based on a survey conducted by J Turner Research, tenants are most interested in unit prices, floor plans, community location, amenities, and unit availability. Tenants appreciate if this information is concisely outlined in your rental listing so it’s easy to find. Including this information also saves you time, as it increases the chances of tenants more accurately determining their interest in your listing.

How to Set Your Rent Price

Knowing how to set your rent price is important for attracting your ideal tenant. Your rent price should be set so it is competitive with the market, but also high enough to cover your expenses while giving you a reasonable return on your investment. In order to adequately price your property, it’s important to research the market and invest in data-driven reporting like our Rent Analysis report to help you set your rent price. 

You should also consider supply and demand in your market, which varies depending on the time of the year that you rent and impacts what you can charge. If you are renting in the summer months, demand (and rent prices) will likely be higher. In the winter, the number of prospective tenants in the market and the average rent will be lower. 

How to Find Your Next Tenant With Screening Reports

Before responding to an inquiry from a prospective tenant, it’s best to first decide what your rental criteria is. This criteria should be not only standardized and compliant with Fair Housing laws, but also consider what you need as a landlord to gain peace of mind while renting out your property. 

Once that’s been decided, you can then respond to their message with next steps. That could be showing the unit in person, a 15-minute pre-screening phone call, or asking them to complete a quick questionnaire to learn more about them. Set the right expectations early on to filter out prospective tenants that are not serious about renting your property.

If you’ve met your prospective tenants in person and want to move forward, then it’s time to begin the tenant screening process. This is when landlords request background checks, credit checks, and eviction reports to get a comprehensive look at the tenant and decide if they’re best suited for your property.

Keep in mind that according to the Fair Housing laws, your listing and screening process cannot discriminate against tenants based on race, color, gender, national origin, family status, disability, or religion.

Post Your Rental Listing Across Top Listing Sites

Using online rental listings is the best way to find good tenants timely. By advertising your property through rental listings, you can increase your chances of attracting tenants that can afford the rent, match your criteria, and make renting a smooth process. 

Create an account today to market your rental property and find your next tenant with Avail.