Leasing Homes in a Competitive Market

We have all read articles and research on how to lease your home in a rough market with more homes than there are renters. What we don’t read a lot about is how to Lease your rental in a market where there are more renters than homes and how to make sure you get the best resident possible. 

With the real estate market going crazy with low inventory and high demand it has pushed a lot of potential home buyers into renting longer. We are also seeing a lot of the 20–25-year-old recent college grads moving out of the home due to the pandemic and entering the rental market. This is great for Rental Owners as we are seeing low vacancy and high rents, but how do we as rental owners ensure we are getting the best residents out there. There are some simple things that you can do to help in this process.

First, Establish your screening process. Setting this process up sounds simple but being able to screen every applicant the same way is vital to you being able keep the process streamlined and replicable. Establishing how you get credit checks, Eviction checks, and Criminal checks in a timely manner will be vital to being able to weed out the applicants that don’t match your criteria fast. The Last thing you want to do is take a week to process an application and miss out on that dream resident.

Second, is to try and meet your resident prior to renting to them. Setting up that tour allows you to be able to meet your resident to interview them and get to know them prior to an application. You are entering into a relationship with these people so being able to work with them is vital. So, get to know them. This also a great time to learn their communication style and why they are moving in the first place.

Third, when you get multiple applications for the same unit you need to determine who gets the rental. When you applicants check all the right boxes and pass all the screenings, you need to be able to decide on who to rent to. So, at Atlas we allow for a two-week window past the availability date. So, if an applicant can move in that time frame, then they will get the home. If they multiple applicants can move in the same time frame, then it is up to first to put the money down for the deposit.  This eliminates any threat of discrimination and allow you to get the home filled quickly.

Making sure you screen correctly and get your home filled quickly should always be top priority but also knowing that you will be able to work effectively with your tenant is a great feeling as well.