As long as you have good tenants, you can worry less about them not paying rent on time. You can also trust them to respect your property and neighbors and abide by the lease agreement.
So, having good tenants can lower your risks of dealing with a high vacancy rate, a low occupancy rate, or evictions. You don't want any of these, especially not evictions, as they're costly. Replacing tenants who leave is also expensive; it can cost landlords nearly $4,000 on average.
Fortunately, tenant placement or rental management services can help you find qualified tenants.
This guide discusses the difference between those two and when to choose which, so read on.
What Is Tenant Placement?
Tenant placement is a stand-alone service that helps property owners find qualified tenants. It involves advertising and marketing rental properties, arranging showings, and screening prospective renters.
As for the tenant screening process, it includes the following steps:
- Verifying the prospective tenant's identity and employment
- Checking their credit score and history
- Reviewing their rental and eviction history
- Verifying landlord references
- Investigating for potential criminal background or involvement
Service providers then use their findings to determine a prospective renter's suitability.
For example, suppose an applicant is one of the 1.4 million people in Michigan with a criminal record. In this case, the screening experts will investigate whether it's a severe (e.g., violent) crime or if the subject is a repeat offender. If so, they'll move on to find a more suitable, trustworthy candidate.
What About Rental Management?
Rental management services also aim to find suitable tenants through extensive screening. However, it's more comprehensive, providing the following as well:
- Property maintenance and repairs
- Rent collection
- Accounting, bookkeeping, and reporting
- Tenant communications
In many cases, rental property managers even provide free rental analysis and evaluation. These services can help you determine how much to charge for your properties.
If you price your rental fee right, you can avoid overcharging or undercharging tenants. You don't want to charge too much because this can put off prospective tenants. Neither do you want to undercharge, as this can cut into your profits.
You can also rely on rental management experts to back their services with peace of mind guarantees. An example is their eviction protection plan, which can safeguard you from the headaches and costs of evictions.
When to Get Which
If you only want help finding qualified tenants, opt for tenant placement services. However, you'll have to handle all other aspects of rental property management.
If you want to earn rental income more passively, go with rental management. This way, you'll have a dedicated property manager handling all your leasing-related needs.
Consider Investing in Rental Management Services
Both tenant placement and rental management can help you find qualified renters.
However, rental management is more comprehensive. It's a better option if you want professionals handling your properties.
That expertise and professionalism is what you can expect from PMI West Michigan. We're a locally owned and operated full-service property management company. However, we're also proud to be a part of PMI, a nationwide franchise managing assets worth over $5 billion.
So, contact us today! We'll happily discuss how we can help you make the most of your Grand Rapids, MI, rental properties.
