Mistakes when renting – What you have to watch out for

Mistake – You want to find a new tenant promptly and keep the costs of your search as low as possible. Since the buyer principle has been introduced, some owners are choosing not to use an estate agent. This doesn’t have to be a problem, but it can prove to be a high risk if you don’t have enough experience in letting. Before you rent out your apartment or a house, you should find out all the important facts about the applicant, his financial situation and his credit rating. The first impression is also a decisive indication that decides on a letting with advantage or on pre-programmed trouble in the apartment building.

Letting mistakes – trust instead of scrutiny

Are you good at sizing people up and knowing if they are telling you the truth or sugarcoating a situation? That’s an advantage that’s crucial when it comes to rentals. However, the shortage of housing and the resulting disturbed supply and demand ratio ensures that some people become inventive and pull out all the stops when they want to move into an apartment. It is of primary importance that you check the creditworthiness of all prospective buyers and do not rely on words and assurances. While confidence is certainly a positive quality, you should think as a business person when it comes to rentals and not rule out checks.

Save time with real estate agents

You do not have time to deal in detail with the financial background of potential tenants? Hire a real estate agent and decide to avoid mistakes in general and put all relevant tenant screening tasks in trustworthy hands. Even the smallest mistakes or oversights can have serious consequences. For example, if a prospective tenant has a negative history or is in debt with their current landlord, you should be aware of this circumstance and not rent without getting the important information. Trust is good, but when it comes to your money and risk as a property owner, fact checking is the foundation of your security and avoiding problems after the contract is signed.

Tasks before renting: Check creditworthiness

One of the most important tasks before every letting is to check the creditworthiness of the applicants. As an owner, you naturally want to be sure that there will be no rental defaults in the future and, as a result, no losses for you. If you hire a real estate agent, for example experts, you can rely on a professional check of the creditworthiness and a correct evaluation of the Schufa score of your applicants. Experts check the solvency of prospective tenants and make recommendations that are unobjectionable based on their creditworthiness and are the first choice for your rental. Learn more about Check creditworthiness.

Finding suitable tenants

The coherence of supply and demand means that you are guaranteed not to have to search long for a tenant. Especially if you rent out a property in a sought-after location, you will have a wide choice of applicants and will be able to make your own individual decision. However, we advise you to simplify your tenant search and find a suitable applicant for your property without a long search. More information about tenant search.

Tips for renting

Since the buyer principle has been in place for residential rentals, some owners are refraining from hiring an agent. However, even if you are paying for the service, you should consider the benefits and find out why an estate agent is the best solution. Find more tips on rentinghere

Draft a contract

You have decided on an applicant and are sure that you want to rent the apartment or house to the person you favour? Then you are faced with the challenge of drawing up a legally valid and error-free tenancy agreement. Even though the severability clause has long been part of every rental agreement, you should also avoid mistakes in the other points of the contract and make a legal challenge impossible. Learn more about the topic contract.