I need help to get a renter!!!!

[Abram Edawrd Inman]

So I bought this house back in January, and I fixed it up over the summer. it is a 3 bed 2.5 bath built in 2006. When I listed it I adjusted the rent to be a little higher than the comparables in my area, because it was one of the nicer ones in the area but I can't seem to get a renter. over the last 26 days, I have had 46 inquiries and 14 applications, of those 14 applications about 5 of them passed the background check and credit history check. some of them I could not get ahold of their employer or landlord which was a red flag for me. 

Because I am a full-time college student and I work part-time I ask that the interested parties submit a rental application before I show the house, but many of them refuse to give a rental application unless they can see the house first.

The criteria for what I look for in a rental application are as follows:

Credit report: I look to see if they have had at least 90% or higher on-time payments

Background check: I look to see if they have ever been evicted

Job and rental references: I look for a steady income and make sure they can afford it with what they make I also call their current landlord to make sure they have been a good tenant and confirm the information the tenant gave me.

I currently have it listed at $1650/month with a 12-month lease. Im still getting inquiries but they are coming in slower I generally get about 1-2 a day now. 

I will post the link to the property below so you can take a look at it and tell me what you think. I need some help and suggestions are welcome. I am a first-time landlord and learning as I go.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5100-Hardy-Ct-Kansas-City...

[Kevin Sobilo]

@Abram Edawrd Inman, nice job! The only comments on the rental itself are 2 functional ones.

1. Most landlords avoid carpet in rentals anymore. Hard surfaces like LVP, tile, hardwood are easier to maintain long term and tend to last longer.

2. GFCI outlets. Should have a GFCI outlet for the laundry. It wasn't clear if all the outlets in the kitchen and bathrooms were GFCI like they should be. Sometimes 1 GFCI outlet is wired to protect a couple downstream outlets.

With regard to securing a tenant, I think you are attracting the applicants you want, but maybe are gun shy about accepting them.

1. With income, I use clear criteria. I am looking for:

GROSS Income >= 3x rent

AND

Rent + Monthly Debt Payments <= GROSS Income * 45%

2. I don't ask them to apply before seeing a place. That is a RED FLAG for tenants. MANY MANY scams going on to collect application fees doing exactly that. Plus if a couple needs to apply to 10-15 places to secure a rental, that is equivalent to a full month's rent. So, it gets expensive for them!

I do open house showings twice a week. One weekday late afternoon and one weekend middle of the day. Then I use zillow for applications because the tenant can use that same application with credit and background checks to submit to other landlords for 30 days without paying an additional fee.

3. I don't put much stock in references like landlord or employment.

With employment I want documentation like a paystub for a W2 job or a tax return for 1099 self employment. If I am dubious of their documentation, I may ask for bank statements to see deposits. Also, credit reports often give and indication of their recent employment as a good double check.

With landlords, if they are trying to scam you, they will give a friend's contact info to pose as their landlord. You may or may not detect that. Even their real landlord may lie to you because they want them to leave. What I do is check my state's courthouse website to see if there are any records showing a current but not yet complete lawsuit or eviction filing. If they are in the process of being evicted, it may not show up on a background check because it hasn't actually completed yet. If there are no records like that, they are ok for me because I trust documentation over what any people with their own agenda might say.