Kansas City Rentals - Advertising Your Rental and Finding The Right Resident

Getting the right residents for your Kansas City rental property can be a tricky proposition. It’s absolutely against the law to discriminate. That doesn’t mean a property manager in Kansas City or owner can’t set some parameters for accepting or denying prospective residents.

Remember though, when it comes to setting criteria, these things are off limits to use as a basis for accepting or denying a potential resident: race, religion, sex, age, family status, disability and nation of origin. If you set any policies that use those criteria to approve or deny an applicant, you’re breaking federal law set by the Fair Housing Act.

When it comes to making a sound rental decision for your Kansas City property, the smart things include:

• Credit history
• Rental history
• Job stability
• Income

Those four areas will tell you more about a potential resident than anything else, so they’re very important to check out. Here’s why:

• Credit report – A prospective resident's credit report will tell you how well they’ve handled money in the past and in the present. The number given by a reporting agency might seem arbitrary, but it’s not. If you look over the pages that come with a report, you’ll find out who a potential resident’s owed money to and how much; you’ll learn about bad debts, if any; payment habits such as being on time or late; bankruptcy and more. Scores generally range between 300 and 900. Scores in the 800 to 900s are excellent, 600 to 700s are average and anything below 600 is considered poor. A 300 would be bad.
• Rental history – This can be partially gleaned from a credit report, but also from past rental references. If a potential resident’s not paid the rent in the past or they were evicted for damaging a property, you’re likely to find this out during a background search.
• Job stability – This can directly effect a potential resident’s ability to pay. If the job history is spotty, or absent all together, the renter might be a bad risk.
• Income – A good rule of thumb is gross income to exceed 3x the monthly rental amount. This will help to ensure that the prospective resident does not over extend themselves.

Now that you as a Kansas City property owner know what to look for, the question remains how put the criteria into action. That is a question you’ll have to decide. However, here are some general ideas:

• Credit history – Some rental properties require spotless credit while others will accept a tenant with a blemished past as long as other factors look good. For example, an average to poor score might be offset by a great rental history and a steady job.
• Rental history – Evictions are generally a reason for denial, but some complexes will overlook paid evictions if the resident has a decent credit score, a stable job and sufficient income. Evictions that aren’t paid or involve extensive damage as the sited reason, however, are good reasons for an instant denial. Do make certain to check with past rentals and scour credit reports for any negative actions when it comes to housing payments.
• Job stability – This can be a sticky area that will most likely require a set of rules. A person who has just recently relocated to an area won’t have a long history with their present employer, or they most likely won’t. Looking further back is often in order as is paying more attention to other factors when making a decision. If a person has a job history that includes a number of jobs in short time or long periods of unemployment mixed with a bad rental history, that might be a reason for denial.
• Income – If a would-be resident can’t pay the rent, there’s little point in going through with a lease. A lot of rentals require that a lease amount should be no more than a third of a person or family’s income. Some places will accept an income of twice the rent or even less in the case of government subsidies.

Whatever you decide for applying the parameters, remember to set a policy and be absolutely consistent. If you say you’ll only accept prospective residents with a credit score of 700 or above, three times the rent in income, an unblemished rental history and a job history that goes back at least two years with solid employment, then only accept those Kansas City residents that match your requirements. If you’d like to be more flexible, write some solid ground rules into your policies. For example, an excellent credit score will offset a slightly poor rental history or the lack of a long job history. Once you set your rules, you should never bend them. The policy you set must be followed or you could open yourself to a world of trouble. What you do for one person, you must do for another, with no exception. If you offer a special to one person so they will move in, you must do that same special for the next person that inquires unless the specials “change”. Specials cannot change dependent upon person. For any legality issues or specific questions, visit with your attorney or visit www.hud.gov.

Be smart, set some policies in advance of dealing with potential residents. It’s never a good idea to haphazardly apply the policies you’ve set. If you’re fair, follow the letter of the law and you are consistent, you should cover yourself for almost any eventuality. And remember, it’s okay to deny an applicant if they simply don’t meet the muster based on a solid set of criteria. You’re only protecting yourself, your Kansas City property rental and perhaps even the person you’ve turned down.