Some people might think that less stringent, inconsistent, or nonexistent tenant screening criteria will get their units rented more quickly and for more rent. These same people are often worried that if they do screen, no one will rent their unit and/or it will take too long to get rented. While this is sometimes true, we feel the risk is not worth the reward.
Improperly screened tenants can often have negative consequences. It can lead to placing a tenant with a criminal record that could put other tenants in the area at risk. Allowing low credit scores, not verifying income, and/or allowing someone who does not bring home enough income can dramatically increase the likelihood of delinquent payments and even evictions. Inconsistent screening opens the door for numerous fair housing claims that can result in huge fines and a poor community perception.
FRPM screen criteria is listed in the link below:
https://www.boiseproperty.management/rental-criteria
Consistent and responsible screening has been very successful for us and our company metrics support this. Our average vacancy rate last year was only 1.46%. Our average eviction rate was only 0.01% and we collected 99.9% of all rents. Our average days on market was 21. This means on our units were rented about 7 days before the existing tenants moved out with our Preleasing strategy (Preleasing will be our next Blog topic). These numbers prove that consistent and thorough screening is an essential piece of property management that delivers consistent expectations to tenants and really provides overall piece of mind to investors.