LESSON 3 - I'm unsure about my prospective tenants

I’m unsure about the tenants......

What should I do?

After the vetting and referencing of your tenants you may still have doubts. You don’t want to turn them away and risk a prolonged void period but equally you don’t want tenants from hell.

There are varies methods that a landlord can take to safeguard themselves. Firstly if you are concerned about the tenant stop paying because of financial hardship such as sudden unemployment then you could consider taking out rent guarantee insurance.

This will ensure that a landlord still receives rent to pay your mortgage costs even if the tenant can’t afford to pay. The cover should be enough to either allow you to then gain possession of your property or for the tenant to get a new job and start paying the rent again.

No or poor credit reference?

Some tenants such as student tenants will have a very limited credit history and this could lead to a very low credit score; leading to the referencing company recommending that you do not let your property to them.

Often once you have met a prospective tenant you can make a judgement as to whether they will make good tenants and you will be able to get along with them. If you think they may be a good bet but their reference is not up to the mark; then you should use a guarantor.

A guarantor is somebody of good financial standing that promises to stand behind the tenant in the event that they stop paying the rent and leave the property owing you the landlord money.

To find out whether you should use a rental guarantor then have a look at this recent article.

If you need rental guarantee forms; then you can now download them for free from the Property Manager.

Landlord insurance