The first step in the screening process involves setting up minimum qualification standards to protect yourself. You might be wondering what these are. Basically, these are the very minimum standards that you decide each and every single prospect must meet in order to qualify as a potential tenant. If an interested candidate doesn’t meet all your standards, then they aren’t able to rent your home. Plain and simple! This way, you can quickly move on to the next candidate. These standards also ensure you check through every item before approving a tenant so you don’t miss anything and accidentally let in a “bad apple.” Further, because you apply these minimum standards to all tenants, you can also avoid any accusations of discrimination, such as with the Fair Housing Act (FHA) or Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) , or favoritism. Tip: Consult a real estate attorney to ensure you set up your minimum qualification standards correctly and are in compliance with the Fair Housing Act (FHA) or Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) , or favoritism. Minimum qualification standards also keep you on track so that problem tenants don’t slip through the cracks. Having standards in place and checking each and every item with each and every potential tenant will drastically reduce the odds that you’ll forget something important. Think about how easy it is to forget something. It’s human nature! In most cases, people get lucky and nothing significant happens. However, you can’t rely on sheer luck when you’re renting out your property. If you don’t have a checklist, it’s easy to forget even just one small thing, but that “small thing” can lead to a host of problems that could have easily been avoided. A bad tenant could cost you hassles and headaches plus thousands of dollars in lost
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