Hunting for a new rental property can be a nightmare and renters often find themselves tearing their hair out due to crowded inspections, unanswered rental applications and competition to secure a lease.
To stand out from the crowd of budding tenants, it’s important to have an impressive rental application that includes all relevant information and presents you as a responsible tenant.
Here are some rental application tips to help you secure your dream rental property.
Introduce yourself to the Property Manager
While you may think it’s unnecessary, make the effort to introduce yourself to the Property Manager on inspection day.
This is a polite gesture that will ensure they remember you when going through a mountain of applications.
Tell them a little bit about yourself and ask questions about the property to show your interest. Remember to treat this encounter as a mini interview and keep it professional.
This is not the time to talk about your undeclared pet cat at your last rental or tendency to leave cleaning until the day before an inspection.
Include all relevant material
Ensure your application is complete and includes all required documentation. Lodging an incomplete application reflects badly on your organisational skills and the Property Manager may see you as irresponsible and likely to miss rent payments.
When applying for a rental property, be prepared to supply proof of income documents such as pay slips and bank statements, a letter of employment, a rental ledger, ID documents and reference letters including any pet references.
If you’re unsure if the real estate requires any documents, it’s always best to include them anyway as further proof of your suitability for the property.
When completing the agency’s rental application form, address all questions and double check you haven’t missed any pages or information.
If you’re required to include photocopies of any documents, ensure they are legible. If your application seems rushed or careless, this again paints a bad picture of you as a tenant.
Include a cover letter
Treat the inspection as an interview and the Property Manager as a potential boss. A cover letter should sell you as the most suitable tenant for the property.
The cover letter is an opportunity to talk about your family, work and rental history.
If there’s anything in your application that may be unusual or alarming to the Property Manager, explain this honestly in the cover letter. Y
our application is much more likely to be successful if you address any issues upfront and not try to conceal them.
If you have a pet, introduce them in the cover letter and give a quick run-down of their personality.
It’s important to include if they are an outdoor or indoor pet and any measures you will take to ensure there is no damage to the property. A cute pet picture also won’t hurt your chances.
