How on market listing photos can qualify or disqualify a potential tenant

[Alan Asriants]

I couldn't fit the entire post in the title but in essence I have been using this trick to qualify applicants

This applies to applicants that are in a situation where their current landlord is selling their home

Sometimes you get some red flags about a tenant because you wonder why their current landlord is deciding to sell.

Obviously you get a wonderful landlord reference. They are great, they pay on time, they don't cause any trouble, etc

It makes sense, the landlord is selling the place and needs the tenants out. Why would they hurt themselves by writing a negative reference?

What I have done in this scenario is look up the current property they have on the market. 

What do the pictures look like? Is it messy? Are the bathrooms clean? Would you buy that house?

You can take it one step further and even schedule a tour. Usually the pictures say it all - even professional pictures can't hide abuse to baseboards, dirty trim, hoarding, etc

I just had a decent applicant apply to one of our apartments. We were glad when we pulled up the listing photos. It was messy, dirty, and crammed with loads of things in a 2500 sqft single home. They are moving to even a smaller space! In one year our place would be destroyed.

While you can find negatives, you can also find great candidates!

I had an applicant with a 600 credit score apply to my apartment and when I saw their current place I was happy to take them. 

So if you're in this situation, take the extra step and check out their current home