Finally bought a house hack now how to find a great tenant !!

[Zack Tremere]

Hello, So I am a long time lurker, first time poster. After about 3 years of learning I finally saved enough to jump in and buy my first house hack in Hamilton Ontario. I close today (Sept 26th) and was hoping to have someone rent the basement for Oct 15th. Just looking for some advice on how you experienced investors screen your tenants? It is especially important because I will be living above them. Thanks so much in advance!

[Jacob Perez]

@Zack Tremere I suggest posting this stuff in the Canada / Ontario forums. Our US friends are great and have strong & experienced skillsets but the area your investing will play a large part in terms of rules / regulations and strategies.

This Q was asked in a another thread, here was my response - I rent out several properties in Hamilton so i can relate first hand. 

I use a few different screening processes. The first starts on kijiji. I ask a lot of question right off the hop. If they can't answer 4-5 questions clearly and legibly, there's no point in wasting anyone's time bringing them to the house.

I have this copied and ready to past for every inquiry on kijiji:

Thank you for your inquiry before we move forward a couple a questions:

What's your reason for moving? - (Did they have a fall out with prior landlord? Start a new job etc)

Are you currently working? - (Simple but important, a lot of people will be on ODSP, Ontario Works, etc.)

What is your budget for rent? - (This tells you is this near the top of their budget, near the bottom? etc)

How many people would this be for in total? - (you'd be blown away by the amount of people trying to cram 6 kids in a 2-bedroom, important Q to ask)

What date are you looking to start the lease? - (Does their start date even add up? Oh they need to rent too soon or a couple months from now? again no point wasting time).

Based on their answers to these Qs you use your personal comfort level to decide whether they get a viewing.

Bonus Point: Do you want no pets? Say Pets are allowed in the listing, let them open up about the 3 dogs and 4 cats they have, that way you have that information.