Quantity or quality? Surprisingly, that’s a constant question property management companies (and the property owners they work with) face. Do you want to get tenants into your building as quickly as possible, or take your time to find the right tenants that will stay for years? Here’s where qualifying tenants for rentals comes into question!
Almost always, that equation tends to tip towards the latter. Short-term tenants that just weren’t a good fit rotate out regularly, requiring constant attention and effort just to find the next one. Finding the right fit might take more effort to start, but ultimately leads to more customized solutions for property owners who know their space to be rented to the right people.
That’s the approach we take. Rather than showing properties as quickly as possible to get that lease signature, our team focuses on asking questions that lead these tenants to the right spaces. Finding the right fir for the tenant leads to finding a perfect fit between the tenant, owner, and property management team – an ideal relationship for everyone.
Our process includes asking these 5 questions when qualifying tenants for rentals in Boulder, Colorado:
1) How Many Bedrooms Are You Looking For?
It’s a simple question that leads to surprisingly complex answers. It helps us gauge the size of the space that the potential renter needs. Obviously, one-bedroom or studio apartments are very different from a large 4-bedroom house. But it doesn’t have to be that extreme for us to get valuable insights.
Often, we also get an explanation with that answer, which helps us further qualify the need. For instance, a young couple needing a guest bedroom space will likely be looking for different properties (not to mention a smaller second bedroom) than a couple with a child who needs their own space. It’s that type of nuance we’re looking for in these answers.
2) What is Your Budget?
Yep, it’s another seemingly obvious question. Naturally, we need to know how much a potential tenant is willing to spend before offering up any properties that might be good fits for them. Showing a property way below the price range doesn’t help the property owner, and showing one well above will never lead to a lease. The key is to find the middle ground.
Again digging deeper for nuance can help us show better, more relevant properties. One example is utilities: are they already factoring that in, or are they looking at pure rental costs? Considering that utilities in Boulder can add hundreds of dollars to the monthly budget, it’s an important consideration before we show any apartments or houses.
3) What Neighborhood Do You Want to Be In?
Anyone living in Boulder knows how varied the options here actually are. Knowing early on whether the tenant is looking for any specific neighborhood or even a type of neighborhood is immensely helpful for more customized rental solutions that benefit both parties.
Are you a student who wants to live on The Hill by all the CU-Boulder action? Or do you need a quieter neighborhood that’s still within a close distance? Are you a Naropa University student that needs to be near that campus? Do you want plenty of space for the kids to roam around, or get close to the bustling downtown action?
We offer properties for rent all over Boulder, but will limit the options we show based on the answer to these types of questions.
4) What Amenities are Important to You?
From laundromat to an in-unit washer and dryer, and of course the option of laundry in the building, everything is possible. Dishwashers are unnecessary for some, but indispensable for others. Parking only matters if you have a car, but even then you might want an assigned spot compared to the simple option of parking your car somewhere nearby.
The range of potential tenants when it comes to amenities is almost infinite. The good news is that we offer options for most, if not all of these preferences. But to show the right home, we need to know what those preferences actually are. And of course, we’ll work with the property owner in the background to get the right resources in place.
5) Are You Looking for a Pet-Friendly Space?
Furry companions tend to be non-negotiable. Of course, you wouldn’t give up your dogs or cats just to move into that dream apartment. So why would you even bother to look at spaces that don’t accommodate your current pets? We know that most tenants will think that way, so we do our best to not even worry about the options that don’t make sense for them.
We have some properties that allow dogs. Quite a few in our portfolio let tenants keep their cats. Most importantly, though, you don’t want a tenant that doesn’t know about the rules and moves in with a pet that’s not allowed anyways. That’s another reason for this thorough vetting process.
Next Steps to Build Customized Tenant Solutions
All of the above questions (and the many details that come with them) help us in qualifying tenants for rentals in just the right property. But of course, that’s just the beginning. Once we know what they’re looking for, we can direct them to our website to look at interior photos and floor plans of all the units that might be a match.
Only after that do we actually schedule a viewing of their favorites, the properties that might be the perfect match. That thorough process might take some more time, but helps us ensure that by the time we get to the lease signing, we already know (or are pretty close to knowing) that tenant and property will be a great fit.
Without a doubt, it’s a complex process. In the end, though, it’s worth it. That process is the key to making sure that both the property owner and the potential renter will be a happy match. If you want to partner with us on your housing journey, contact us. Let us show you first-hand the work that we put in on the front end pays off big time on the back end.