When a prospective Buyer wants to look at houses, most Realtors generally prequalify them to determine if they a.) have adequate funds for their down payment and closing costs and b.) whether or not the Buyers have met with a lender to determine if they can qualify for a loan for the balance. If they don't have the wherewithal to purchase a home, then it doesn't make sense to spend too much time with them looking at homes until those boxes have been checked.
But what about folks who are looking for homes to rent? Doesn't it make sense to know in advance of a showing if they are qualified and/or meet the Housing Provider's criteria for a new Tenant?
t's not uncommon for the large online rental platforms such as Zillow, Trulia, Apartments.com, etc. to offer a button for browsers to click on that results in a message to the landlord (now "Housing Provider") or their agent that indicates "I'm interested in the property -- when can I arrange a showing?". Unfortunately, many Housing Providers, and some agents, simply react to this request and schedule a showing, without any pre-qualification as one would expect from a potential Buyer as noted above. I had a conversation recently with a Housing Provider who was having an issue renting their property. I asked how many showings they had conducted and their response was "50"! To me that was a staggering number! But as it turns out they had done no pre-qualification:
When these questions are presented to prospective Tenants, an amazingly large percentage of them don't respond (estimate 80%-90%) for one reason or another, although I'm not completely sure why. I suspect because they don't consider it the norm, or that they feel that it's intrusive; When they do complete the form, to me it signals that they are definitely interested -- not always qualified but more often than not, they are! But for everyone involved -- prospective Tenants, agents, and owners, it can save everyone time if the prospective Tenant isn't qualified. I use an online form that takes about 60 seconds to complete, and is all self-reported information. And while it's simple, it helps determine whether or not the owner (or the agent) should schedule a showing. If a showing is scheduled, and the prospective Tenant wants to pursue the property, then a more in-depth application would be required.
The button below takes you to my online pre-qualification form -- I'd be interested in your thoughts as a prospective Tenant, an agent/broker, or owner on the utility of this kind of information prior to viewing/showing a rental property.
But what about folks who are looking for homes to rent? Doesn't it make sense to know in advance of a showing if they are qualified and/or meet the Housing Provider's criteria for a new Tenant?
t's not uncommon for the large online rental platforms such as Zillow, Trulia, Apartments.com, etc. to offer a button for browsers to click on that results in a message to the landlord (now "Housing Provider") or their agent that indicates "I'm interested in the property -- when can I arrange a showing?". Unfortunately, many Housing Providers, and some agents, simply react to this request and schedule a showing, without any pre-qualification as one would expect from a potential Buyer as noted above. I had a conversation recently with a Housing Provider who was having an issue renting their property. I asked how many showings they had conducted and their response was "50"! To me that was a staggering number! But as it turns out they had done no pre-qualification:
- Does the prospective tenant have adequate income to support the rent?
- Approximate FICO score?
- How long have they been employed?
- Do they have animals/pets (especially if the Housing Provider has a "no pets" policy -- Emotional Support Animals and Service Animals excluded)
- How many people will by occupying the property?
- Any history of collections?
- Any felons in the group?
- Any evictions/bankruptcies in the past 7 years?
- Ever been asked to leave a rental property?
When these questions are presented to prospective Tenants, an amazingly large percentage of them don't respond (estimate 80%-90%) for one reason or another, although I'm not completely sure why. I suspect because they don't consider it the norm, or that they feel that it's intrusive; When they do complete the form, to me it signals that they are definitely interested -- not always qualified but more often than not, they are! But for everyone involved -- prospective Tenants, agents, and owners, it can save everyone time if the prospective Tenant isn't qualified. I use an online form that takes about 60 seconds to complete, and is all self-reported information. And while it's simple, it helps determine whether or not the owner (or the agent) should schedule a showing. If a showing is scheduled, and the prospective Tenant wants to pursue the property, then a more in-depth application would be required.
The button below takes you to my online pre-qualification form -- I'd be interested in your thoughts as a prospective Tenant, an agent/broker, or owner on the utility of this kind of information prior to viewing/showing a rental property.
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