The tenant screening process is one of the main concerns our landlord clients have, which is why a thorough overview of a potential tenant is an essential step Morris & Co’s Property Managers take to protect our clients’ rental listings.
Evicting a tenant is one of the last things landlords or property managers want to have to do.
Unfortunately, high unemployment levels in the Orlando area has put many income property owners in the position of having to evict tenants for not being able to make timely monthly lease payments.
However, due to Morris & Co’s strict tenant screening process and proprietary score card approval system, we have only had to follow through with an eviction on one of our managed properties in 9 years.
Another major cause of anxiety most landlords have with managing their own rentals, is worrying about their property’s condition and whether or not the tenants are following through with the regular maintenance requirements that are outlined in the lease.
There is nothing worse than having to invest thousands of dollars rehabbing a property every time a renter moves out.
While it is hopeful that our targeted online rental marketing campaigns would attract the most qualified and trustworthy tenants, Morris & Co’s property management clients are relying on our experience and insight to protect their investment properties.
Step 1 – The Qualification Process:
To reduce the risk of having to perform an eviction, we have the following tenant screening systems and checklists in place:
- Credit Check
- Criminal Background Check
- Employment Verification
- Income Verification
- Rental History Verification
- One-on-One Interview
With the current foreclosure crisis sweeping through southern Florida, the general expectation is that many applicants will have some type of negative mark on their credit due to a recent foreclosure, short sale or bankruptcy.
Either way, we review an applicant’s credit report to look for signs of credit abuse, previous evictions, unpaid utilities, a history of numerous late payments or any other patterns of defaults.
Step 2 – The Interview Process:
The most critical step in our tenant screening process is the live interview we conduct with each applicant.
After an applicant has filled out the rental application, and all other credit, background and employment checks have been completed, Morris & Co’s Property Manager schedules an appointment with the prospective tenant to ask specific questions for clarification on our findings.
Our Staff have vast experience in the interview process from a law enforcement perspective previous.
And while our office does not ever want our tenant applicants to feel like they are being interrogated, we do pay close attention to every aspect of the conversation to get a better feel for who is signing a lease agreement.
The interview process also allows us to build a mutual respect with our tenants so that they can have the confidence knowing we are a professional property management company that cares about our landlords and tenant relationships.
Our applicant interview process generally takes place at the office or in a convenient location for the applicant. However, there are circumstances where we’ll conduct a phone interview in cases where the applicant is moving to the greater Orlando area and not currently located in town.
Step 3 – The Final Decision Process:
To ensure that there aren’t any fair housing laws violated, each applicant is graded on an unbiased point system that takes into account their income, credit, rental history and several other factors.
This “score card” determines if the tenant is approved, approved with a larger security deposit or denied.
While Morris & Co will accept input from our landlords, we take special precautions to ensure our staff and landlords are not violating any one’s rights as set forth in the Fair Housing Act.
Rental Marketing
Regardless of whether you believe renters start their property search on the Internet, Morris & Co excels in marketing rental properties online.The old methods of simply placing a rental property in the MLS (multiple listing service) and waiting for another real estate agent to bring a qualified tenant to the table are not effective in this new world of social media, Facebook, Twitter and 24-hour instant access to information.
Fortunately, knowing where and how to advertise rental properties in high traffic areas of the web is our specialty.
Morris & Co has spent the past 15 years building a network of top ranking authority web sites and property syndication portals in order to gain a competitive advantage when trying to cut through the noise and reach specific audiences online.
Our aggressive Internet marketing campaigns generate hundreds calls and inquiries every month from potential renters interested in our featured properties and leasing services.
We even have a full-time staff dedicated to optimizing our rental properties and network of web sites to show up at the top of popular search engines for “Rental” related keyword phrases.
Tenant Eviction Process
Even though we try to be as understanding and compassionate of a renter’s circumstances, evicting a tenant from a rental property is a distasteful, but often necessary part of any property manager’s responsibilities if so designated by the landlord.
The most common reason a landlord or property manager would have to follow through with an eviction is due to non-payment of rent.
However, there are many scenarios where a property manager or landlord is forced into taking the final action of evicting a tenant.
Violation of the lease, health and safety concerns or legal matters are other issues that can lead to a tenant eviction.
For example, repeated complaints of loud or drunken behavior that is disruptive to the peace and tranquility of the other tenants or neighbors may lead to an eviction.
Either way, it is essential that the property manager has a firm understanding of Landlord / Tenant Eviction Laws in order to protect the rights of all parties involved, especially in dealing with lease agreements that pertain to government-subsidized housing.
Florida law is quite specific as to the processes and procedures required to lawfully evict a tenant.
For instance, Florida tenant eviction laws require specific advance notices to advise the tenant that they are in violation of their lease, and to specify the violation.
Examples Of Eviction Notices:
- Three Day Pay or Quit:
This notice advises the tenant that rent is past due and is not sent until after any allowed grace period for rental payments has passed.
The three day notice period does not count the day of service, and the landlord must accept if the tenant offers a full and immediate payment of the past due amount.
Partial payments can be accepted only if the landlord so chooses. In such cases, the landlord can issue a new notice for the balance owed.
- Three Day Nuisance Notice:
This notice advises the tenant that he or she is in violation of one or more of the lease requirements and restrictions, and must correct the problem immediately or be subject to eviction procedures commencing on the fourth day after receiving the notice.
The notice does not involve rent payments, and the violation or violations must be clearly specified in the notice.
There are various other types of notices and follow-ups to these notices that the landlord, landlord’s attorney and the property manager must be fully versed in, not only for the purpose of avoiding eviction law violations, but also to deal with any issues that may evolve in the event a tenant files an unlawful eviction lawsuit against the landlord.
Additionally, there are notices, issues and procedures that apply separately to manufactured and non-manufactured homes.
Specifically, there are notices that apply to manufactured homes, such as change in land use for example, that obviously does not apply to non-manufactured residences.
In the event a tenant leaves behind any personal belongings after eviction, the tenant lawfully has thirty days to reclaim the property.
The landlord has the option of charging a reasonable storage fee based upon the amount of time the belongings have been kept, or the belongings can be turned over to a storage company, and the tenant can reclaim their property from them.
Under no circumstances, in accordance with Florida tenant laws, can the evicted tenant’s property be held as “ransom” for past due rents.
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