15 Ways to Score the Best Tenants for Your Rental Property

Being a landlord isn't always easy. Tenants can cause a load of problems, from late payments, unruly pets, and parties to evictions and even property damages. Every landlord dreams of scoring the perfect tenant who pays on time, maintains the property, and lives in the space quietly.

The good news is that it's not as hard as you may think. Here are 15 ways to score the best tenant for your rental property.

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One of the biggest draws for securing a great tenant is having a rental property that's in good condition. This doesn't just mean clean and habitable. Think about the paint color, condition of the cabinets, flooring, and landscaping. Another benefit of keeping the home well maintained is reduced maintenance when the tenant is in the property.

Not every rental property needs to have marble countertops or top-of-the-line appliances. But certain upgrades, features, or amenities can go a long way in attracting the right tenants.

Consider making minor upgrades like replacing the flooring with something more durable and modern and changing out old lighting fixtures. Kitchen and bathroom updates, like painting wooden cabinets or replacing the vanity, can go a long way. If you have more extravagant features, like a pool or hot tub, make sure to emphasize that in your rental listing.

Pricing a rental property isn't as easy as you may think. Many landlords overcharge or undercharge their rentals based on market rents because they want top dollar or are simply unaware of what they could be getting.

Before you list, look at comparable properties offering similar features and conditions as yours within a 1- or 2-mile radius. Listing within the median price range means you'll quickly get traction on your rental listing and be more likely to secure a high-quality tenant.

ALSO READ: Should You Buy a Rental Property Right Now?

The quality of your rental listing photos matters so much more than most landlords think. Taking a photo on your smartphone won't cut it. Consider hiring a professional photographer to take high-quality photos for the listing. Their rates are often very competitive and will likely result in getting the property rented faster, for more, and to the right tenant.

Make sure your property is advertised on multiple listing websites. Most people search for rental properties online, so that should be your starting point. But don't forget to put a sign in the front yard and list it on social media platforms.

Today, almost all listing sites allow you to do this for free, with many populating to other sites automatically. The more places you list, the wider your tenant pool. Make sure you have a super well-crafted listing summary to accompany your amazing photos.

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Screening your tenants is a super important step in finding the best tenant for your property. You cannot consider things like age, sex, or race in the tenant screening process, but you can verify their income, review their credit history and score, check for prior evictions or bankruptcies, and consider those factors.

Many landlords have an application fee to help process the background check, which we'll discuss next. Just make sure your application, fees, and tenant criteria are clearly spelled out and follow all local and federal laws for tenant screening.

Along with the rental application, you'll want to verify the information provided by the tenant, including current income, credit history, and past evictions or criminal records. Online programs can quickly run background checks for you for a nominal fee. But this part is absolutely essential before renting.

Most landlords follow the 3x rule, meaning the tenant's income is at least three times the rental rate. Some higher-end rental properties require larger amounts -- like five times the income to rent -- however, three times is a well-covered ratio that ensures the tenant should be able to maintain their rental payments each month.

ALSO READ: 3 Scenarios When Rental Real Estate Is a Bad Investment

There's a popular saying in real estate: Trust but verify. The tenant may not have any formal evictions on their history or stated any issues on their application, but that doesn't mean they maintained the property or didn't chronically pay late each month. Call the previous landlords to learn more about how they were as a tenant and whether they would rent to that tenant again.

Spelling out each party's roles and responsibilities in a lease is a huge part of a successful rental relationship. Tenants should be made aware upfront of any aspects of property maintenance, like replacing air conditioning filters each month, or mowing the lawn, or whether painting the walls is allowed. Eliminate any guesswork about the rental process, including when and where to make rental payments.

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Security deposit laws will vary from state to state. Some have no caps on the amount required for a security deposit, while others do. So it's a good idea to check with your local laws before setting a security deposit requirement. However, many landlords ask for one month's rent as a deposit. Make it abundantly clear that it is a security deposit and is refunded upon moving out, assuming the property is left in clear and well-outlined condition.

Renters' insurance provides tenants with protection for their belongings in the event of a flood, fire, or other property damage. It can also cover alternative housing if longer repairs require the tenant to vacate the property. Requiring this removes some of the financial burdens from you as the landlord and offers better protection for the tenant -- a win-win all around.

Paying rent should be easy. With the countless ways to collect payments these days, there's no reason you should accept a late check via mail. Consider using a free online rental management program that allows the tenant to pay rent online by card, ACH, or wire. It also keeps track of security deposits, rental payments, and repair expenses relating to the property for your records.

ALSO READ: Managing a Rental? 6 Reasons a Property Management Company Is the Way to Go

If the tenant has an issue or repair request, make sure you respond to it quickly. It's a good idea to have a clear system in place for submitting repair requests and a team of experienced professionals you can call on to fix it quickly. The faster you get things fixed, the happier the tenant will be, and likely longer they will stay.

The last thing a good tenant wants is a helicopter landlord. Periodically go by the property to check on things from afar, but give the tenant the space and respect they deserve. They simply want a nice space to live in and make their own. And always communicate respectfully and professionally.

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As you can see, scoring the ideal tenant isn't as hard as it may seem. Most of the heavy lifting happens in the listing, screening, and tenant-qualifying process. From there, monitoring and maintaining the property should hopefully be done with ease.

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