{"id":58,"date":"2018-11-16T13:44:49","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T13:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/?p=58"},"modified":"2018-11-16T13:48:55","modified_gmt":"2018-11-16T13:48:55","slug":"5-screening-tips-with-vacation-rentals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/16\/5-screening-tips-with-vacation-rentals\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Screening Tips with Vacation Rentals"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are two main differences with the occupants of a vacation rental vs. a standard rental property.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Length of stay<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Mindset of the guest<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The difference in the length of stay is pretty obvious\u2026 vacation rentals tend to be short stays where traditional tenants sign a longer lease.<\/span><\/p>\n

    What we\u2019d like to focus on is the mindset of the vacation rental guest.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Mindset of vacation rental tenants<\/h2>\n

    There\u2019s a reason<\/span> people drive more aggressively<\/a> with a rental car compared to the car they lease. It\u2019s a different mindset when it\u2019s a short-term rental.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The same can be true of vacation rentals as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Why not shut the fan off for a hot shower because you like to pretend the rental has a steam room?<\/span><\/p>\n

    Knowing that your guest may have this viewpoint makes it important you screen your short-term tenants with as much vigilance as you would a standard renter.<\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/h2>\n

    5 Screening Tips with Vacation Rentals<\/h2>\n

    Here\u2019s a quick list of tips you can implement into your process to screen your short-term guests.<\/span><\/p>\n

    1. Try various searches parameters on social media<\/h3>\n

    Social media posts can say a lot about person\u2019s lifestyle and living conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n

    You\u2019re looking for obvious photos that indicate someone lives an \u2018Animal House\u2019 inspired lifestyle.<\/span><\/p>\n

    However, many people will have two social profiles. Let\u2019s use Facebook for an example.<\/span><\/p>\n

    If you have the name, email, and phone number of your applicant. Try searching all three separately in Facebook.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Some people will have an account set up using their phone number and a separate Facebook account attached to their email address.<\/span><\/p>\n

    If they have two accounts there is a good chance they created a professional looking profile for job purposes or perhaps to keep up appearances for family.<\/span><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s the other profile that will give you a better idea of any potential red flags they might be publicly sharing.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    2. Co-signers can be good<\/h3>\n

    Having more than one person\u2019s name on the agreement can be helpful in spreading the responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\n

    This can be achieved by requiring a co-signer for the rental. Someone else who will be responsible if repairs are needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Just having the understanding that someone else will be affected negatively can keep people on their toes.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    3. Security deposits are your friend<\/h3>\n

    If you\u2019re not charging a sizable security deposit on your rental you\u2019re asking for trouble.<\/span><\/p>\n

    A security deposit does more than just create a deposit you can withdraw from if there are damages. It will discourage people with potentially harmful plans.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The Best Man planning a ruckus bachelor party is not going to want to put up a sizable security deposit on his dime. He\u2019s going to look for a rental that will limit his liability if the party gets out of hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Charge a good security deposit and you\u2019ll scare away suspect tenants.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    4. Ask for references<\/h3>\n

    If they\u2019re currently renting, ask if you can reach out their landlord.<\/span><\/p>\n

    A quick conversation with the landlord will help give you confidence that you\u2019ve found a great guest for the vacation rental.<\/span><\/p>\n

    This step may take a few extra minutes but you\u2019ll know right away if the renter is reluctant to provide this information that they may have something to hide.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    5. Run a background check<\/h3>\n

    Many times people start running background checks AFTER they\u2019ve been burned by a bad tenant.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Our advice is to always be proactive and run a background check as your last screening measure before handing over the keys.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Has this person been evicted in the past? Do they have a history of violent crimes?<\/span><\/p>\n

    Identifying any potential red flags before you hand over the keys is crucial.<\/span><\/p>\n

    For anyone managing someone else\u2019s asset you\u2019ll want to run a background check because it\u2019s not a good look when a convicted felon causes substantial damage to the property.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    About RentPrep:<\/h2>\n

    RentPrep is a<\/span> tenant screening service<\/a> based out of West Seneca, NY that services over 40,000 landlords and property managers nationwide. They have a team of FCRA Certified Screeners that hand-compile reports to ensure accuracy and are available by phone, email, and live chat to discuss your reports. We\u2019re proud to be integrated into the RealTimeRental platform to keep your vacation rentals in good hands.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    There are two main differences with the occupants of a vacation rental vs. a standard rental property. Length of stay Mindset of the guest The difference in the length of stay is pretty obvious\u2026 vacation rentals tend to be short stays where traditional tenants sign a longer lease. What we\u2019d like to focus on is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63,"href":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions\/63"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rentalnews.realtimerental.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}