Careful Tenant Screening

A quality property listing will generate a lot of interest in your property—but not every applicant is a good choice as your next renter. Gulf Coast property management knows how to effectively screen all tenant applicants to find the best tenant for your rental. Choosing the wrong renter can not only be an expensive mistake but a punishing one. Make sure your property manager has a thorough screening process and follows the law for fairly choosing your tenants while protecting your assets.

How it Works

Prospects submit an online application and, if they meet our criteria, they are conditionally approved. This application is evaluated by our internal admin team, and we verify the information by requesting supporting documentation.

Our expert process includes:

• Employment and income verification
• Credit history
• Prior rental history
• Criminal background check
• Reference checks
• Following all regulations to perform anti-discriminatory screenings and protect sensitive data.

Background Checks

Our aim is to find a quality tenant as quickly as possible, but this does not mean we will cut corners in our background checks. Some prospects object to how thorough we are and consider our requests an overreach. Our response is uncompromising, as it is our job to ensure that we find the right fit for your property. We screen tenants in Lakewood Ranch, Homes Beach, Sarasota, and the surrounding areas.

Screening Ensures Quality Renters

The Lakewood Ranch community began in the late 1990s. In 2017, the population was around 22,000 people—and its suburban setting, access to beaches, and peaceful, multi-generational lifestyle continue to keep this area a sought-after place to live. When purchasing a property as an investor, you can be sure that you've chosen an excellent place to invest, with plenty of renters interested in your rental home.

However, renting to 'anyone' who shows interest is one of the fastest ways to put your property at risk. When you don't have a thorough screening process in place, you increase the potential to place a bad renter in your property. These prospects can look great on paper, but successful investors protect their properties (and income) by digging beneath the surface of the application.

Don't Put Your Income at Risk

Bad renters can ruin your investment property! When allowed into your property, they:

• Refuse to pay the rent
• Cause property damage
• Break the rules of the lease agreement
• In extreme cases, abandon your property—and leave you without rental income.

An excellent property listing and a well-maintained property will improve the quality of potential renters who fill out a rental application. Still, smart investors know not to rely on the application to choose a new resident. If you don't have the resources (or time) to conduct thorough renter screenings, a professional Lakewood Ranch property management partner can handle it for you.

We know the signs of an excellent resident, and we recognize the red flags that warn about a potentially bad renter. Our screening process shows us the good, bad, and ugly about prospective renters through:

• A credit check
• A check of the Sex Offender Registry
• Employment and income verification (three times the rent)
• Prior rental history (including evictions, late payments, and rent defaults).

If any signs point to a potential problem, we'll deny a renter from moving into your rental home. We're also careful to follow fair housing laws and avoid any discriminatory practices when comparing potential residents to your pre-determined criteria and applying our screening practices.

Protecting your properties and income requires careful renter selection. With plenty of excellent renters in Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte counties, partner with Gulf Coast Property Management to make sure the best renters find their way into your property while avoiding bad renters.