Advice please. House viewings

Landlord Discussion
1

I advertised my property on Friday afternoon and by Saturday had received a lot of enquiries about viewing it.

The first person who visited appears very promising and I mentioned how impressed I am, although full referencing and affordability checks must be done before any tenant moves in and I did not promise anything.

He is more than happy to produce bank statements, payslips, references of previous landlords, employers etc.

I have shown someone else around, who I will not be choosing and arranged for a few more viewings on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, of which one may sound particularly suitable too!

I am very tempted to persue the first person, who, subject to checks, sounds an excellent tenant, with a very good job, decent income and has worked and rented long-term in the area.

Should I pursue him now or wait and see what the other viewings turn out like. Two of them I have arranged viewings with, but on reflection they do not sound the best applicants.

This first man is fine with waiting a few days for me to get back to him, but I am scared of him finding somewhere else to rent.

Advice please?

I assume that if somrone is looking to rent with a partner, 2 separate referencing and affordability checks are done?

Thank you.

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Update…

I have just messaged the first tenant I am impressed with and explained I will still be showing other people the house on Wednesday.

I have also mentioned ti him how promising he appears, subhect to full referencing and affordability checks and asked if he is prepared to wait a couple more days while I decide and get back to him.

3

Go with your gut and procede with the first guy. A singleton will give your property less wear and tear.

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Christopher32

Thank you. I have a good feeling about this first guy. He has a partner, who is a professional contract cleaner. Maybe not a bad thing!

If a couple are renting, is it best to check both people out ir just the one paying rent?

Thank you.

5

I proceed with any applicant who ticks all my boxes and continue with that application until I either find something to put me off or offer them the property. I will however, only carry out referencing on one applicant because I don’t want to waste money. By the time I do the referencing, it’s pretty much a done deal because of all the other checks I do beforehand.

for what it’s worth, I NEVER tell them how impressed I am with them. I keep things as neutral and business-like as possible.

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Word of note, NEVER SHOW YOUR HAND!
Treat it like a job interview, if you were the first interviewee, the interviewer would never say " You impressed me, I’m not going to interview other candidates, because I’m actually scared that you may get another job elsewhere"
See how ridiculous it sounds. You don’t know how good the tenant is until you’ve see a good few more.
Contrary to popular belief, don’t just go with your gut… Always use your head too :slightly_smiling_face:

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As it happened, I refused this first guy, as he seemed too keen and ready to move in.

I am now referencing 2 people, each from separate visits.

Also, thank you StevieLets for the fantastic advice. I know now I should have kept my gob shut.

Yes, I treat it like a job interview, but.let my guard slip on that occasion.

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