With its pristine beaches, growing job market, low unemployment rate, and median income of $55,600, it's no wonder Forbes named Tampa the best place to live in Florida.
Those attributes also drive people to move, live, and rent in The Big Guava. So, if you own rentals here, you'll likely have a long list of prospective tenants.
To top it off, you can rely on tenant placement or rental management services to help you choose among those prospects.
This guide discusses both services and which one to consider, so read on.
The Perks of Tenant Placement
Tenant placement is a service that helps landlords find qualified tenants. It often involves the following steps:
- Advertising and marketing your rental properties
- Responding to inquiries from prospective tenants
- Scheduling and handling showings
- Screening rental applicants
- Creating lease agreements
Since professionals will perform the steps above on your behalf, you can save a lot of time. They will also help you get trustworthy renters through comprehensive tenant screening.
Tenant Screening Done Right
Comprehensive tenant screening evaluates a prospective renter's viability and risks. It includes checking each applicant's:
- Criminal background
- Credit score and history
- Rental and eviction history
- Employment and income sources
So, tenant placement services can help you better gauge an applicant's good moral character and ability to pay rent. They can also help you avoid renting to people who may engage in dangerous activities. If you rent to these individuals and they commit a crime on your property, the law may hold you liable.
How Rental Management Differs
Rental management is a service provided by property management companies. It lets you delegate nearly all your rental business's daily tasks to experts. For example, your property manager will handle tenant screening and placement, as well as:
- Property maintenance and repairs
- Property inspections
- Rent collection
- Communication with prospective and existing tenants
Your manager can also help you develop strategies to retain your best tenants. For example, they may help you create tenant incentives to encourage them to renew their leases.
Which One Best Suits You?
Tenant placement may be better if you want some involvement in managing your properties. Once the service has placed tenants, you'll manage them and your properties. You'll also be responsible for renewing lease agreements.
But if you are a new landlord or don't have time to do all that, consider rental management. This way, you can outsource all of your needed property management services. It'll save you the most time, letting you do what you do best while waiting for your rental income.
Simplify Property Management With Rental Management
Both tenant placement and rental management can help you find qualified renters.
However, rental management is more comprehensive, frees up more time, and ensures your properties are well cared for. So, go for this if you want a more hands-off approach.
PMI South Tampa provides full-service rental management services. We're a proud member of PMI, a national company with 20+ years of property management background. Through our expertise, we can keep your rentals occupied by qualified tenants.
So, call us today to learn more about what we can do for your Tampa properties!
