Tag Archives: how to choose tenants in Toronto

If the landlord doesn’t respect the property the tenants won’t respect the property

The Toronto Star article referenced in the above tweet is a reminder of the principle that:

“If the landlord doesn’t respect the property then the tenants won’t respect the property”.

This means that if you want your tenants to respect the property, you as the landlord should demonstrate respect for the property. Remember also that the value of a rental property (unless it is also a single family home) is proportional to the amount of the rents. The amount of the rent is proportional to (among other things including accessibility to public transit) the “quality of life” in the building. The key to successful landlording is attracting and retaining good tenants. Tenant turnover is very costly for landlords. All small landlords should review the principles for finding and selecting good residential tenants.

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10 Principles: How to find and then select a tenant for your residential property

goodchoiceWhenever I speak  with a  prospective client the question of how to  select a tenant comes up. To be clear, tenant selection is the single most  important aspect of  property management.  Once you find a good tenant you must provide good service  to  keep that good  tenant. But, the first  step is to find that  good tenant. There are two distinct steps:

1. Locate a potential tenant

2. Screen the tenant.

You must learn how to screen a tenant.

Tenant  selection is more of an art than a science. You must be flexible and aware. You will get better at this over  time. You must recognize that finding a tenant in a small  town in Northern Ontario is different from finding a tenant in downtown Toronto. So, after  more  than 30 years of finding and selecting tenants, here are some of my thoughts about  how to select a tenant.

Remember: You will solve your problem of finding a good tenant only if you can solve the tenant’s problem of finding a good  place to  live! You can solve  your problem only by solving the tenant’s problem.

Ten Principles of Successful Tenant Selection:

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