What Type Of Tenants Do You Want In Your Home?

I know when I first got into Real Estate investing this was my biggest fear. It was actually one of the main reasons why I waited so long to get into Real Estate investing. What if I get the wrong tenant into my home? Now that I have been doing this for several years now, it is one of the most asked questions I get.

Now have I always had top notch tenants? I wish I could answer yes but I haven’t however, percentage wise yes.

When we are looking to fill our properties and assistant our tenants, we like to attract tenants that meet the following three criteria:

1. Are they stable in their job and life?
2. Do they have the ability to pay on time?
3. Will they appreciate and care for the home?

After you’ve had a chance to think about the three questions above, ask yourself the following;

If you were looking to move, what type of home and location would you want to live in if you were starting out in home ownership?

By answering these questions the best I could, i quickly realized how profitable my Real Estate investing became. Remember, when using the Rent to Own strategy, you are attracting tenants that want to become homeowners and are looking to make a long term commitment.

They are excited about investing their time into up keeping the home and investing their time and money into making improvements. By selecting the right home in the right location, your tenants will want to raise a family in that home and neighbourhood. They want to hangout in the backyard, get to know their neighbours and be involved in the community.

So here a few tips to keep in mind when you go out looking for a beautiful home in a beautiful neighbourhood;

1. Size Does Matter

Understand that someone looking to get into a starter single-family home is usually movving from a cramped apartment building and is hungry for space. Now, understand that you don’t need to get into a home that is 2600 sq ft. however, 1600sqft. is much better than 800 sqft. Also, if your home is large enough, your tenants will not feel the need to move to get more space, which increases the probability of them purchasing your home during the lease period.

2. A Beautiful neighborhood.

Everyone wants to live in a beautiful neighbourhood, that has a nice park, close to a school in a child safe neighbourhood. If they feel insecure or the area is not a good place to raise a family, you’ll have a difficult time renting out your home. Remember, they want to feel safe, see their neighbours looking after their properties have a make friends with the neighbours. I guess that’s why they say…. location, location, location three times.

3. Curb appeal.

What feeling will your tenant/buyer have when they see the home from the street? They want to make sure that when their friends and family come over that the property looks great from the outside. Ugly homes repel good tenants and nice homes attract great tenants. I always try to put myself in their shoes by asking one simple question….. would I live here?

By following these few simple guidelines you see how simple it can be to rent your home out for top dollars and get great tenants into your home.

Gary Hibbert