Basic tips and guidelines to find perfect tenants for your dream home in India!

It’s never too easy finding the right tenant for your home. Our home is dear to us, and each homebuyer comes with a certain cultural background and expectations on the extent to which they are okay with the tenant. The list can include do’s and dont’s as well as expectations on professional, salaried, businessman, vegetarian, non-vegetarian, pets, children, sexual orientation, etc. Sometimes we are not able to say things in writing and seek answers or confirmations verbally.

It’s important that as a home buyer you get what you want, and the tenant is also comfortable with you. Having said that, while the tenants’ behavior remains unpredictable, you could still take a few precautions before you rent out your property. 

1. The basics:

• The most basic thing is to always meet the potential tenant in person. Some homeowners involve middlemen or brokers to enable the renting process.
• When meeting tenants personally, you can get a better idea of the tenant, and are able to form your first impression. 
• Customizing the rules and expectations in the rental agreement according to your property type and your interests could also help you in attracting ideal tenants.
• Once you have these decisions made you now have a better idea and confidence in deciding on which type of people you want to rent.

2. Property Marketing:

• Different types of people have specific interests in styles of property. Keep this in mind, and make changes to your property to attract the type of people you are looking for. For instance, installing geysers, air-conditioners, locks, latches, provision to dry clothes, demarcated parking area, and many more elements that attract a potential tenant. 
• With pre-installed air-conditioning, for instance, you are more likely to attract the right gentry who is willing to pay a higher rent too!
• You must understand the rental value in your local area, and quote a price according. 
• Understanding which segment of customer you want to attract, and providing amenities and provisions inside the house to match your targeted segment. For instance, if you have a home in Sainikpuri, Hyderabad, and you are targeting a segment that needs good air-conditioning, high-end interiors, wardrobes, pre-fitted chimney, modular kitchen, high-end bathrooms with premium fittings, etc., you will get a better rental once you meet these needs
• A detailed description of the property type, rental rules, and restrictions should be mentioned while marketing your home.
• While putting up or uploading photos, we must know what matters to the tenant, and how to highlight the positive points of your apartment. For instance, while clicking photos of the kitchen, you must highlight- modular kitchen cabinets, exhaust/chimney, lighting, and work area.
• Clear photographs of the property with all lights switched on must be used in social media marketing.
• The kind of photographs matters! Ideally, you could show 2 pictures of the same room to cover the room from all angles.

3. Tenant Screening:

• Tenant screening is a very critical procedure as you can get to know more information about the tenant.
• Make sure you collect information on the below for verification purposes:
  • Contact details and proof of identity documents like Aadhar card, PAN card details, employee id, business details, etc. 
  • Employment status
  • Employer details and contact person
  • Reference by family or friends
  • Previous rental history
  • Knowing the number of children
  • Pets
  • Whether or not they smoke (depending on your tenant preferences)
  • Frequent guest visits

• All this information can help you decide on filtering the type of tenant you need.
• Perform a police verification, which is mandatory as per law.

Once the screening process is thorough, consult an advocate to prepare a registered rental agreement containing all the norms to be followed by the tenant during the tenancy period. 

You need to keep a copy of all the Identity proofs and reference details provided by the tenant.

To avoid stress and to save time on finding a prospective tenant, you can always hire a property management company! They may charge you for it, but will take away all the legal, timely rent-collection and rules-related hassles!

End of the day, while renting out your property, you need to make sure that the terms and conditions are shared with the potential tenant as candidly as possible!!

“It’s much better to be candid than to be a pretentious idealist.”

– An anonymous quote

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To know more about “Renting Vs. Owning A Home In India: A Perspective!” Click here!