Great Questions to Ask When Screening Potential Viewers Over the Phone

Below are some questions we use when screening viewers over the phone. When we ask questions, we make them feel comfortable in telling us these answers. We want to sound welcoming, not confrontational or argumentative.

1) When are you looking to move in?
(If you're looking to rent your place out at the end of month, but they want to move in on the 15th, then you know they are shopping around. You can do a showing for them but those who want to occupy the place sooner gets priority scheduling. In other words, you will be more flexible and show to those who want to occupy for the 30th. And you will call those who want the place for the 15th once something has been set.)

(Now, if today is already the 20th and they want to move in on the 30th. It is important to ask, "So why are you moving so close to the end of the month?" Sometimes, it could be they are being evicted, in which case, they will not make good tenants. Hear their reasoning and judge accordingly.)

2) How many places have you looked at already?
(I tend like to show my places to those who have had a chance to look around. I have found that if your property is one of the first fews they are looking at, they most likely will not take it. People usually make their decision after they've seen 5-6 properties, minimum. And the likelihood of them remembering yours is slim to none. So if they tell you this is the first property they are checking out, tell them you won't be doing a showing until 2 weeks later.)

3) What is your budget for rent?

4) Who will be occupying the place?
(This is to gage how many people will be living there and if they have children, etc. I personally prefer families and adult couples, as their lives tend to be more stable and won't move around as much.)

5) What is it that you and your (spouse/roommate/etc.) do for a living?
(Find out where they work because you can judge from the proximity of their workplace to your property, how likely they will become your tenants. If they don't have a job, ask them when they're planning on getting one and what was the last job they had.)

6) How many pets do you have? or What kind of dog do you have?
(Note that you ask "HOW MANY.." and not "DO YOU HAVE any pets?". These are trick questions because tenants will pretend that they have no pets if they know you don't accept pets. Now if you do accept pets, then you can proceed to ask them "What breed...".)

7) What do you smoke? or What brand is your smoke?

8) Have you ever been evicted?

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After they've answered all of your questions, you will decide to either book them for a viewing according to a mutually beneficial time or let them know that you will call them back with a viewing date and time.

When you have booked a time, make sure you ask them to call you one hour before showing time to CONFIRM that they can still make it. Tell them that if you don't receive a call from them, then you will assume that they are no longer interested. You can also call THEM half an hour before the appointment time or BEFORE you leave for the showing to confirm if YOU haven't heard from them. We usually do this because sometimes they forget to call.

However, you must remember this: if their phone is OFF or on VOICEMAIL when you call them, then they are NOT SERIOUS. And if they really did forget, then they will call you to reschedule.

Last bid of TIPS:

• Always book as many people for the same time to give them a sense of urgency.
• Always call them half an hour before the scheduled appointment time to confirm.
• Be careful not to discriminate against anyone. Everyone is allowed to see the place. If an undesirable viewer happens to call on you to follow-up and you do not wish to rent to them, simply tell them that "The place has been rented out." If they call back 2 weeks later, seeing that you have re-posted your ad and they ask, "Why didn't you rent it to me?", simply declare, "We had rented it to someone but in the end, it didn't come through. If you are interested, you can come for another viewing and fill out another application form." He/She will say, "But I already filled one out." "Yes. However, we've disgarded all the applications from previous viewings because we thought we had completed the rental process. If you are still interested, please come in again and fill out a new application form."

JUST REMEMBER THIS:
If you break your own rules, you will end up wasting your time!!!

Good luck renting! =)