You’ve finally found your dream rental home and desperately want to make it yours. Time is ticking and you really need to move. How can you prepare your application to give it the best chance of getting across the line? Well, to answer this, we need to put ourselves in the minds of property managers and landlords to understand what they are looking for and how they think.

Here are some things a property manager looks for when assessing a tenant’s rental application:

• Identification and support for this

• A rental reference to verify things like:

  • Is any rent still owed?

  • Was there a history of late payments?

  • Did they leave any major property damage?

  • Were there any recorded issues with neighbours or police?

  • Did they get their bond back?

  • Would you rent to them again?

• Reference checks: personal, professional and rental

• Proof of employment

• Proof of income that comfortably allows the rent to be paid

• Tenancy database checks to ensure that the tenant hasn’t been black-listed

Red flags to a property manager / landlord

It’s easy to rent a home to a tenant, but ever so hard to evict a tenant once the lease has been signed. Tenancy laws are very much on the tenant’s side which is great for a tenant with a lease, but the situation makes landlords and property managers very cautious about whom they rent to. The sorts of red flags are things like:

• Tenants without references

• Tenants with unstable employment

• Tenants with a history of breaking their leases

• Tenants who have been black-listed

• Tenants who are seeking to rent a home that may seem inappropriate for their needs (eg 1 person in 5-bedroom house; 3 adults in a one-bedroom unit)

• Gaps in rental history including missing names and contact details for previous landlords

• Reluctance to provide proof of income or identification.

Melissa Maimann is a licensed real estate agent, buyer's agent and rental search / relocation agent in Sydney. She saves renters valuable time and frustration offering an affordable service that finds and secures the best rental properties quickly, easily and effortlessly. If you need a Licensed Real Estate Agent to find your next rental home for you, don't hesitate to make contact.