Is it necessary to meet tenants in person?

Question

Many of the tenants I’ve had are ones moving to the area from out of state. The last tenants at one of my SFH rentals were comfortable securing the property remotely based on the photos and video tour, signed the lease electronically, and sent all move in funds to me electronically before they moved to the area. I provided them keys via a lockbox at the property, so I never met them in person throughout the tenant screening process or to get the keys to them. They stayed with me for two years, paid on time every month, were fantastic tenants, and I never met them in person once.

These tenants just moved out and I just had a new set of tenants placed with a very similar situation. They are moving in from out of town and were comfortable securing the property based on photos and the video tour. My question is should I make a point of meeting these tenants in person to give them the keys when they get to the area, or just provide them the keys the same way via the lockbox? Since they’ve already already signed the lease and put the deposit down, is there really any reason or benefit of meeting them in person at this point? Or does it really not matter?

Phillip Dakhnovets · Answer

Hi Eric,

In my opinion, it's a double-edged sword. If you are managing the property yourself, then yes, meeting the tenants is crucial, as a credit score and background check can only say so much about a person. Obviously, if they have a credit score above 800 and a clean background check, I would tend to trust them more.

On the other hand, if you have a property management company, meeting the tenants in person means they have your contact information and may call or text you before contacting the property management company.

All best,

Phillip

Adam Bartomeo · Answer

It really doesn't matter. As you grow larger it will be impossible to meet even a fraction of your tenant population. Having phone conversations and making sure that your screening process is on point are much more valuable. Meeting a tenant is the cover of the book and the screening process is the knowledge provided inside the book, don't judge a book by its cover.

Drew Sygit · Answer

@Eric Brown it is NOT necessary if everything else is done well.

Meeting a tenant really won't do you much good as to screening them. How well do you THINK you read people or how good are you at judging character?

Most of us are worse than we think!

Also, tenants are often on their best behavior on the "first date".

Prompt communication is what's MOST important:)

Rene G. · Answer

Why do you ask?Everyone here will give you their opinion in search for more upvotes. It's always best to do your own experiments and in your case you have a two-year successful case study.Not sure if you self-manage, but either way, did you get into real estate investing to get a second job with more to-do tasks, or did you get into this for cashflow?In my case, as a DIY landlord, I'm in this for Cashflow Forever and Real Freedom. That's why I've developed "self-service" property management to simplify my rental management...to make it so easy my kids can take over (and won't sell everything when I die)!

Jakob Mikhitarian · Answer

You can do either, but I prefer meeting them in person. Making the connection in person is completely different from an online interaction. Having a personable character also makes it easy to get along with them!

Jessica Stinnette · Answer

I believe if you are asking if it's important to meet the tenant prior to them moving in so that you can build repoire, the answer is not necessarily. Tenants are just looking for clear and responsive communication and a nice kept home. If you are asking if you should meet the tenant to show them the home, vs them applying sight-unseen, that is a very different answer and should be yes whenever possible. 9 out of 10 times if we secure a lease with tenants who apply to rent a property 'sight unseen' because they are coming from out of town and can't seen it in person until the day of move in [even if they have a friend/relative/agent do a virtual showing and walk through it themselves] it typically never ends well and the home is NEVER what they expected and are unhappy right from the start. We even created a 'sight unseen' addendum to be included with every lease so tenants know that unless they asked for contingencies [ie: repaint entire home] the home is as-is, so they should not expect a freshly painted property unless they asked for it prior to signing the lease. We manage SFR's not apartments so a lot of renters often think it's going to be re-painted every single new lease start which just doesn't happen.

Alyssa Wright · Answer

The answer sort of varies on a few factors like are you self-managing, have you had a proper conversation with them over the phone, etc...

As Adam mentioned, larger unit counts mean less face to face but if you're able to it certainly couldn't hurt!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

It's not necessary. It's nice to meet them in person before screening their application. Once they are approved, there's little benefit.

Bryan Montross · Answer

Here are a couple of my thoughts:

1. I don't think you need to meet the tenant in person if you trust your screening process. Just know that most screening processes show you the numbers, but not the character. Really ensure you are talking to references in this case to understand the person.2. If I am the property manager or managing the property myself I try to find a time to meet the tenant in person. Maybe this is the walk-through inspection. Sometimes it is just a pop-by a month or two after they move in to see how they have treated the place so far. Giving a small token of appreciation can start the relationship off well, show you care about the property, show you care about the tenant, and just be a great way to introduce yourself. It could even wait until it is getting close to lease renewal and you do an inspection to know if you want to renew the lease. But I do try to meet them sometime during the process.

Is it necessary to meet tenants in person?

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