Do you prescreen interested parties for a showing?

[George V.]

When a current apartment is rented with tenants, and you need to rent the place for when they leave, do you have them fill out an application first? I currently use Zillow for applying, but I'd have to tell prospective tenants to apply with credit check and a fee there. 

What is the best approach to prescreen tenants so that I don't waste my time and current tenants' time on someone who don't qualify? 

[Nathan Gesner]

First, I have my application instructions, my scoring sheet, and my rental criteria all posted on my web site so they can review that before applying.

Before showing the house, we ask if they have pets, if they are going to be living with anyone else, and how much money they make.

1. If it's a no-pet property or has restrictions, I can find out if the particular pet(s) will be allowed.

2. If they want to move in with other people, I can determine whether the rental has restrictions on the number of occupants or if there are different application processes they need to follow;

3. If they don't make 3x the rent for the property they want to see then I won't bother showing it.

These three questions knock out a lot of lookers that would otherwise waste my time.