Renting a property out involves more than just taking viewings and handing over the keys to the firstcomers. Landlords have to protect their investment and avoid the hassle by whittling down would-be tenants through a thorough tenant screening.

This is no longer an especially arduous process, so long as you put property management software to work on it. If this sounds appealing, stick around and we’ll fill you in on all the upsides worth shouting about.

Enhanced Background Checks

Property management software, which is now capable of leveraging AI and big data, significantly improves tenant screening by freeing landlords and agencies from the need to manually sift through mountains of paperwork. This makes getting the lowdown on applicants a breeze, and revamps the background check process for the digital era.

Key benefits include:

• Speed: Automated processes cut down waiting times.
• Accuracy: Cross-referencing multiple databases ensures thorough vetting.
• Comprehensiveness: Includes criminal records, rental history, and employment verification.

Consolidating information from trusted sources means potential tenants can be filtered based on whether they meet all relevant criteria upfront. In turn, landlords and property managers reduce risks associated with bad tenants. This is increasingly relevant given that rentals are more valuable to real estate pros in terms of reliable revenue generation, even with a 1% drop in growth reported last year.

Real-Time Credit Score Analysis

Another way in which property management software transforms tenant screening is with real-time credit score analysis, offering instant insights into a potential tenant’s financial reliability. It’s not enough to take it as written that a tenant will adhere to the 717 average score in this category, especially if the monthly payments you’re asking for are at the upper end of the spectrum.

Consider these features:

• Instant Access: Immediate retrieval of up-to-date credit scores.
• Detailed Reports: Comprehensive breakdowns of credit history and current debts.
• Integrated Alerts: Notifications for any red flags like recent bankruptcies or delinquent accounts.

Receiving quick, detailed views of applicants’ financial history and the current state of play provides landlords with peace of mind that they’re making the right choice. Moreover, this rapid assessment enables better decision-making on-the-fly, ensuring only financially responsible tenants move in. Ultimately, real-time data means fewer surprises down the line and more stable rental income streams.

Of course landlords and rental property management firms must recognize that this is a two-way street. If you want tenants with solid credit scores, you also have to offer up properties that align with their expectations and lifestyles.

A lot of this comes down to property maintenance, so this has to be on-point in order to appeal to the right demographics, or else your efforts to optimize tenant screening with cutting edge software will be for nothing.

As well as taking care of obvious tasks like smartening up drab paintwork and fixing up worn or damaged parts of the property, addressing aspects that impact liveability like the presence of damp, mold or pests is just as necessary. In the latter case, outsourcing remedial work to an expert termite and pest exterminator firm like Clarks can be an option, and will let you win over the most stable tenants.

Streamlined Application Processing

Even the very basic workflow that’s involved in working with rental applications used to be a headache. Today, tenant screening is turbocharged thanks to property management software that digitizes each step.

Here’s how it improves things:

• Digital Applications: Prospective tenants can fill out forms online.
• Document Uploads: Easy uploading of necessary documents like IDs and pay stubs.
• Proof of Income Verification: Landlords can receive verified income and asset reports to review a tenant’s income status. 

So rather than wading through stacks of paper applications, which is both time-consuming and error-prone, software makes this feel as easy as online shopping. Centralizing everything digitally means these systems can minimize lost paperwork and reduce processing times significantly. In turn, landlords receive complete applications faster, allowing them to make quicker decisions.

Final Thoughts

Automating background checks, reporting credit scores, and generally taking the sharp edges and speed bumps off the process of dealing with rental applications should be more than enough reasons to make property management software recommendable!