The screening process is the most important part of placing tenants into a rental property. Individuals managing their own properties often have trouble with this because they don’t have the resources or the standards to screen tenants properly. Property owners might be eager to accept the first applicant who shows an interest in the property. This is not necessary. Other applicants will always come along; there are lots of tenants out there.
Income Requirements
Most Grand Rapids property management companies require an applicant to earn at least three times the rental amount in order to qualify for a home. It’s important to require that percentage from the net income, or the take home pay, instead of the gross income. Not a lot of property managers have this standard in place, but it will ensure your tenants earn enough to pay their rent on time every month.
Additional Requirements
Each property management company is different when it comes to what they require from applicants; however, there are a few things you should always pay attention to. Screen for a criminal background from a national database. You should not allow anyone who has had violent felonies within the last 10 years or non-violent felonies within the last five years. It’s also important to check credit. You want to make sure you’re renting to someone who pays their utility bills and doesn’t have any evictions from prior residences.
Rental Standards
Always define your screening process in writing. Once you have established written criteria, don’t shift from thatdo not make special adjustments for potential tenants. If you do, you could run into fair housing issues. Rejecting one applicant who meets the standards and then renting to someone who doesn’t meet the standards is going to raise a red flag, and a fair housing violation could occur. It’s possible to change screening policies as time goes on. There are unique situations which require that standard policies be altered. This is part of improving the screening process. However, once you create your standards and requirements, don’t change them for one or two applicants only.
These are some of the best practices to use when you’re setting up a screening process for your tenants. If you need help with screening or you’d like to talk more about what your rental standards should be, please contact us at United Properties.
Sergio joined United Properties in 2020. He is a graduate from Pickens Technical College as a Nurse Assistant and as a Small Animal Care Provider in 2010. In the past nine years, Sergio has had various jobs, all focused around customer service.
Eden joined United Properties in 2016. Eden graduated from Davenport University in 2015 with an Associate’s in Business Administration. She’s the Executive Assistant to the Owner of United Properties, with a focus on procedural documentation. She enjoys playing guitar, reading, and doing outdoor activities. Eden is trilingual and able to communicate in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language. 
David joined the United Properties team in 2019 as the Director of Client Relations and Business Development. In this capacity, he is responsible for leading all leasing, application underwriting, tenant relations, accounts receivable, process improvement, remote workers, and general office functionality (essentially anything outside of maintenance and service). David comes from a longstanding career at a Fortune 15 company primarily in a sales and customer service leadership role.
Tim VandenToorn serves as Managing Partner of United Properties of West Michigan, working closely with our owners and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company. Tim also started United Realty, which serves as a brokerage for United Properties and assists investors with the acquisition of investment properties.
Matthew joined the United Properties in early 2020. He is a graduate of Lee University with a bachelor’s in Intercultural Studies and also a master’s in Discipleship and Christian Formation. Matthew serves as a project manager over the Rent Ready process. He has 20 years of construction experience and over 10 years of experience in leadership positions. He oversees a team of technicians and schedules outside vendors getting properties back to the United rent-ready standard so that they can be leased again.
Carla joined United Properties in late 2019 as a billing specialist. Carla ensures invoices are received from contractors and bills them out in a timely fashion.
Cristina joined United Properties as the billing assistant in October of 2020. She has experience as a technology professional, an English-Spanish translator, and has worked the past several years as the treasurer of her condominium.
Rick is one of the newest members of our team. He has an extensive background in customer service. He and his wife are raising their 4-year-old son. Rick loves beef jerky so much he makes his own.
Harriet joined United Properties as a billing assistant in February of 2021. She has experience as a bookkeeper and a Property Manager for a Real Estate account. She was a working student during her college days. Harriet loves cleaning because she thinks it is therapeutic. She also loves watching series during her free time, and she’s a fur mom of one dog. Her inspiration to work every day is her family.
Diego has an extensive background in customer service and, most recently in Maintenance and
My name is Paulina Gonzalez. I have been working for the company since early 2021. I studied social work and have 7 years of experience in customer service. I speak English and Spanish. I am very patient, and I like to ask a lot of questions to learn a lot. I enjoy small road trips and cold rainy weather. I have a 3-month-old puppy, and he is my favorite thing in the world.
Jessica has a Bachelor’s Degree in Financial strategies and public accounting and is studying a masters in Blockchain and Fintech regulation. She has previous experience as a customer service representative. She speaks English and Spanish. She loves taking long walks with her three dogs, hiking and road tripping during the weekends.
Chris Good is new to the United Properties Team since June 2022 as a Business Development Manager. With years of experience in both the construction industry (Master Electrician) and the Real Estate industry (Broker), he will closely work with new and experienced investors to facilitate their real estate goals.
Melba Alvarez
Enrique Vergara (Henry)
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Mike Cleveland