We do a quick 5 minute-8 question telephone screening that weeds out most of the undesirables and gives me valuable information. If they pass this, then I do a 30 minute-20 question telephone interview. If they pass the interview, then I offer to show them the property. At the property, I am getting to know more about them from what I see and what I sense and the follow up questions I ask. They have the opportunity to ask me questions too and get to know me and more about the property. Applications to rent are available at the showing.
Here are my initial 8 screening questions:
1. How did you hear about the property? (This helps me identify the effectiveness of my advertising and also lets me know if the person has seen my on line ads that explain the features of the property and lists some of my minimum criteria to rent.)
2. Why are you looking now? (Open ended question that generates a lot of valuable info.)
3. What kind of place are you looking for? What features are important to you? (Open ended question that indicates if they have thought through their preferences and if the unit is likely to meet their expectations.)
4. How many people will be living in the unit? (Deal breaker if too many,such as more than 2 per bedroom. Yes, babies count as people.)
5. Does anyone smoke? (Deal breaker if the answer is YES. We don't rent to smokers.)
6. Do you have pets or animals? (Deal breaker is the answer to pets is YES. If the answer to animals is related to a disability, I answer "We gladly make reasonable accommodations for people with qualified disabilities." Then I move on to the next question. Later, during the more in-depth interview I carefully ask other questions that help me sort out fakers from legitimate people with disabilities.)
7. What is your current monthly income before taxes? (Deal breaker if they do not meet our income requirements.)
8. Have you ever been evicted or asked to leave a property? (An answer of yes is not an automatic deal breaker for me, but will result in further discussion. Some people are evicted upon the sale or conversion of a property, to no fault of their own. It is the problem tenants and unlawful detainers that concern me.)
We follow this 8 question screening with a 20 question interview that typically takes 30 minutes. Good prospective tenants tend to appreciate our thoroughness . Bad prospective tenants tend to balk at this. Occasionally I have had someone snip at me and tell me I ask too many questions. I don't take it personally. I calmly say, "It is important to me to know if it is worth my time to show the place. I need to know if you are likely to meet our minimum criteria to rent. Would you like to proceed?"
@Marcia Maynard: Thank you for the great response to this question. Would you please supply the answer to your question #7 and share your 20 question interview with the BP community. Thank again for the great info
