Every property owner wants the right tenant on their premises. There’s no doubt that the right tenant will make timely payments, maintain the property, secure it, and bring long-term value by being an asset to your premise.
Therefore, in pursuit of the right tenant, you may wonder what questions you should ask Danville applicants before lease signing. Well, we’ve come up with a list of questions that can help you land just the right applicant for your Danville property – apartment, bungalow, townhouse, commercial property, and more.
Let’s look at six questions you should ask Danville applicants before lease signing.
1. What date are you planning to move in?
Knowing what date your potential tenant is planning to move in is one of the most pertinent questions to ask a potential tenant for a Danville property – an apartment, townhouse, bungalow, condo, or commercial property. Seek to find out when your potential client is planning to move in.
Perhaps you don’t have a ready apartment to rent, but your tenant wants to move in immediately. Or else, you have a ready rental space, but your client wants to move in a month or two.
Knowing when your tenant will move in is the first question to ask your potential client. Knowing the date they’ll move in will save you the time and hassle of doing further tenant assessments. In addition, it will save you the hassle of going through other tenant screening questions.
2. Do you own pets?
Pet ownership is a preliminary tenant question that will help you disqualify Danville applicants before doing further tenant screening. If the applicants have pets and you don’t accept pets on your premises, you’ll have saved yourself and your tenant the time and hassle of the application process.
However, if you do accept pets but have a limitation on the number of pets, communicate. Let them know of any pet deposits or fees they may require to maintain their furry friends.
3. Why are you looking for a new place to live?
The reasons behind the tenancy are critical benchmarks for establishing viable tenants. Great tenants vacate for work and lifestyle-related reasons – promotions, landing a new job, or relocation based on a desire for a better and bigger space.
However, some tenants may vacate for criminal reasons, including fraud, desertion, homicide, forgery, and other criminal-related activities. Trying to root out the motivation behind the vacancy and establishing whether the tenant can provide details of their former tenancy are key activities before lease signing.
4. What kind of work do you do?
Knowing what kind of work your tenant does can give you a prediction of their financial position. In addition, obtaining a solid understanding of their profession or business is a measure for evaluating their tenancy suitability.
Although tenants seek discretion for privacy and confidentiality purposes, ensure that you clarify in your tenancy that you don’t tolerate any form of criminal activity, including but not limited to fraud, forgery, drug-dealing, arms-dealing, terrorism, and other out-lawed practices.
5. For how long have you lived in your current residence?
If your renter tends to move out every six months or every two years, the tendency will continue. Lack of consistency in stay may affect your occupancy level, drastically affecting your monthly or annual income as a property owner.
As you ask this question, you may consider it alongside your desired lease duration. Some property owners provide a three-month, six-month, or a year lease duration. Tenants are required to pay an advance fee to kick-start their tenancy.
6. How many people will be living with you?
Some towns and cities have laws on the number of occupants per bedroom. It’s advisable to check the occupancy or rental limit in your area (city or town) and verify the prospective tenant’s household based on this limit.
While there are typically fewer occupancy issues in the United States, especially for non-immigrant families, a typical renter is a 34-year-old who shares the home with children, a partner, or a pet.
Check with the Fair Housing Act when dealing with rentals and families.
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