Please walk me through the process

[Kristine Eickman]

We are closing on our first property on May 6th. We are going to start advertising shortly and would love it if someone could walk me through finding a tenant. I know to put my qualifications in my ad, but what happens after that? I know I have to give an application to anyone that asks, but what do you do after that? Do you start with calling landlords and employers? Then if they pass that phase do you have them pay for the background check?

I am just confused as to the order of what should happen when. Can anyone help?

[Vitaliy Merkulov]

One other tip about getting landlord references. Instead of calling the previous landlords and asking them random questions about your applicant, just ask the previous landlord for their email address and go to www.renterinc.com and request a landlord reference online. This way, you will only be able to ask questions that are legal, and you will have a paper trail. Because if you deny someone based on the landlord reference, you have to notify the applicant about it. Now you have a record of your interaction with a previous landlord that you can present as evidence. That's just one reason.