Renting out your property? Here's how you find a great tenant.

Once you've purchased an investment property, completed any renovations that need to be done and prepared the property to be lived in, it's time to get excited: your investment is about to start bearing fruit. There's just one more thing you have to do - find a great tenant. The CSi Property Group takes a deep dive into what goes into finding a great tenant and all the advantages of using a rental agency.

Ways to find prospective tenants

One popular way to find tenants is through word of mouth. In other words, your friend knows somebody who's looking for a new home and they become your tenant. There are various disadvantages to this approach - mainly in terms of the awkwardness that can develop between you and your friend if there are issues between you and your tenant later on.

Another method of finding a tenant involves advertising your property on online portals like Facebook and Gumtree. The challenge with this approach relates to the care that you would need to take in vetting the prospective tenants.

The safest way to find a tenant who will take care of your property as though it was their own is to use a rental agent. While there will be a small fee for this service, you get the advantage of a property practitioner's years of experience and knowledge of how to find you truly great tenants.

Documents and checks

Before you can seriously consider letting someone move into your property, there is an array of documents that you need to have in your possession:

• Their original ID document (with a certified copy that you can keep)
• Three months' bank statements
• Three months' payslips showcasing their employment
• Written references from their previous landlords, with contact details
• A list of people who will be living on your property with them

You'll also need to verify that the information you've been given is true. This means doing some online research to ensure that their employer is legitimate and then phoning the company to make sure that your would-be tenant works there. It also involves contacting previous landlords to find out whether they paid their rent timeously and looked after the properties entrusted to them.

5 quick reasons to use a property practitioner when finding a tenant:

1. A property practitioner won't just help you to find a tenant. They will manage the relationship between you and your tenant and iron out any problems that may crop up.
2. Because they have systems, protocols and in-depth knowledge of relevant laws like the Rental Housing Act, property practitioners can help you avoid an array of problems.
3. Lease agreements have to be worded in very specific ways in order to be valid. Your property practitioner will ensure that the law is always on your side.
4. If you do end up with a difficult tenant, a property practitioner will have specific knowledge of what may and may not be done by law.
5. Tenants often move on after just a year and if you have a relationship with a property practitioner, it will be easier to find another tenant if and when you need to.

The CSi Property Group has years of experience in helping landlords find the calibre of tenants that will help them pay off their investment properties and reach their financial goals. Contact us today and let's find the right tenant for your investment property.