Struggling with Mobile Home Leasing

[Theresa P.]

Hi everyone!

I recently bought a mobile home park in South Carolina and am having a hard time renting the park owned homes. The previous owner had lower standards for tenants, and would lease to anyone who applied as long as they had no prior evictions in the county the park is located. I took over and wanted to raise the standards of the park, so I put a process in place to screen tenants. The result has been disappointing. I get a lot of inquiries from Facebook (via Zumper postings) and Craigslist, but people usually fall off the grid once I tell them I'd like them to submit W2's and pay stubs. So far, it feels like we are evicting more people than we are renting to (we also inherited many tenants who have not paid rent for months). 

I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to take a look at our "apply now" page on our site and read through our steps for applicants, and give me some feedback one what is going wrong here. 

Here is what our application process is:

1) Fill out a form on our website. 

2) Go to the park and tour one of our homes. 

3) Fill out an application on Cozy.com. The $40 application fee goes towards tenants' first month's rent. 

4) Along with the application, provide me with an employer reference I can call for income verification, previous landlord reference, a copy of their last 2 pay stubs or form of monthly income, a copy of their last W-2, and a copy of some form of government issued ID for everyone in the household.

I know this is a lot, but I'm not sure what I could take out to make this application process more appealing. Any input would be greatly appreciated!