Are you struggling to find a Kansas City tenant?

Knowing how to find tenants is an important part of being a landlord. But, you don’t just want tenants – you want good tenants. A good tenant will pay rent on time, take care of your property, and follow the terms of your lease. At Key Partners Property Management, we work hard to find the right tenant for our owners and ourselves. Your experience and success as a landlord will largely depend on the tenants that are placed in your property.

Finding a Kansas City Tenant Starts With: Tenant Screening

The screening process should include everything that allows you to understand a tenant’s history. You will want to conduct a background check that includes running a credit report, asking for income verification, checking employment history, and talking to landlord references. On the credit report, you want to know that bills are paid on time and there aren’t any outstanding balances due to former landlords or Kansas City property managers. Check to make sure utilities aren’t paid late, and make sure there’s not a lot of debt that would make it hard for the tenant to pay rent on time. Talk to former landlords about the tenant’s performance. Ask if rent was paid consistently, if any damage was left behind, and if proper notice was given before the tenant moved out. Find out if there were complaints from neighbors or pets that caused problems. Be careful of tenants who have past evictions.

Communication

Talk to your prospective tenants. Before they fill out an application, make sure they understand your rental criteria so they know if they have a good chance of getting accepted. It takes time to interview tenants, find out about their past rental history, and understand why they’re moving. They may have to explain some of the things that are on their application. It’s better to hear about credit problems or gaps in employment from the tenants themselves. You’ll know you can trust them if they’re willing to talk about their challenges.

Retention and Relationships

Once you find good tenants, you want to keep them. Tenant turnover and vacancy costs are high, so develop professional, respectful relationships with your tenants and be attentive to their needs.

At Key Partners Property Management, we have a great success rate with placing good tenants. We are very picky about whom we move into our properties, and we take our time and allow our screening process to work.

A person lying on a sofa reading newspaperIf you have any questions about what we can do for you or would like us to help you find a Kansas City tenant, please contact us at Key Partners Property Management.