4 Steps to Greater Rental Profits

Want to know the 4 steps to increase your rental profits? It's not just about raising the rent. It is about thinking like a business owner, protecting yourself and meeting customer needs. But where to start?


Step 1: Buckle Up

Tighten your screening process. Always do a credit check and background check. Most landlords know this but sometimes we let some tenants slip through the cracks. The challenge is more inside than outside. It’s a mindset, a way of thinking. It’s good to want to trust people, but every landlord is a business owner with assets to protect and customers to serve. So, why would we fail to screen tenants? Maybe to get our places rented faster. But experience shows time and again that’s both short-sighted and dangerous. Think of credit and background checks as an “insurance policy” to protect against much greater costs down the road. Besides, landlords should be charging an application fee to cover the costs of screening. If you’re not charging for this, ask yourself ‘why not?’ Is it to get the place rented faster? Again, short-sighted and dangerous. If your applicants don’t want to pay $20 or $30 for screening, then they’ve just weeded themselves out and saved you a lot of money and hassle down the road!

You want to attract the best tenants who are more likely to pay on time and never go to court or have to be evicted. But who are these ‘best’ tenants? Well, you know them instinctively. They’re the ones who pay their application fees for screening. Who take decent care of your property. Who have stable employment and transportation. Who have many options available for places to live. That’s who you want to aim for. So, buckle up. Tighten down your screening process and you’ll start reaping big rewards from your rentals.

More in future posts on what the next 3 steps are . . .

Catch my interview on Logical Soul today, 3/15.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/logicalsoul/2011/03/15/landlord-marketing-secrets

I'm talking with Dr. Michael Craig about how smart marketing tips can increase rental profits for landlords and property managers.