After exposing a property to the market and attracting several inquiries, the challenge of deciding who eventually occupies the apartment or space comes up. Prudent practice demands that the Property Manager should make his choices based on objective standard.
In other word, it is professional to set standards and criteria to qualify people to take up tenancies from you. It should not only depend on ability to pay,especially as most intending tenants who are serious about renting space somehow come up with the first rent payment and fees anyway! Ability to pay initial rent and continuity is vital to creating a good tenancy but much more important is a list of conditions you expect a tenant to meet or satisfy which you have noted before hand even ahead of personally meeting the tenant. Some agency treat tenancy as a favor and would rather engage personal yardsticks in tenant selection which naturally leans toward a subjective process. So just how should you pick one among many possible tenants?

Set a list of standards which you prefer your tenants to meet and while interviewing potentials tenants, identify the one(s) that meet the best blend of all criteria listed.
Why does this matter so much to the success rating is based on how well you are able to put paying tenants in occupation with minimum friction which leads to good property management over the next few years while leaving your client (the landlord) satisfied that you have put worthy occupants in his property achieving the best rental value and minimum outgoing(maintenance cost, etc)
1. Ability to pay:
very early in relating to a potential tenant you must determine from interview and discussion, the persons ability to pay rent as at when due. In most economies of third world countries,Nigeria being no exception, the challenge of vast population is how to meet up living expenses especially on food and shelter. The proportion of income that rent or housing consumption takes up should normally no exceed 20% but in Nigeria, a lot of tenants pay as much as 30 to 50% of their monthly income to rent substandard housing.
This led to a high rate of default as the people in a short while can not keep up the burden of rent payment
It is wiser therefore not to let someone into possession than to let a property to someone who can not keep up rent payment and soon get embroiled in activities to recover rent from recalcitrant tenants. I assure you, It is not an interesting task
I interviewed a young man recently who had just finished his youth corp(NYSC) programme and wanted to take a 3 bedroom flat. He drove a nice car and had a business involved in multi-level product marketing. I had a sight reservation about his job initially because I felt if anything goes wrong with the product marketers, who of course, are not employers in his income would be affected, but that in itself was not the problem. When I ask him how he put the rent he was about to pay together soon,he proudly told me his older brother had given him most of the money. What happens in other years ahead? Would he be depending on such help to pay rent? These are question that must be satisfied. No, our agency could not let that category of luxury flats to that particular tenant. He was advised to look for something cheaper.
2. Nature of work:
This criteria is closely linked to the tenants ability to pay.
Unfortunately, some category of workers will always be more attractive to let a property to,than others. In places like Port Harcourt and Warri,workers in oil companies will be the toast of the letting agent. Why? They are well paid in salaries and allowances and are unlikely to suffer a high rate of rent default. In Lagos, bankers may be well favored because they fit jacket of a potentially good tenent. Not everyone however will be a banker, oil worker, or insurance manager. what about the teacher, the clerical assistance, the civil servant? There must be a balance and that is where the letting agent must be fair not to use money as the only criteria but relate the person to the size and location of the property. It is in your judgement to perceive from their income bracket whether the property is suitable for each category as indicated. In any case, there is a natural sorting process that takes place as most people are realistic these days. Before you can demand a flat in Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, Alalubosa you probably have an idea of how much it would cost and may eventually settle realistically for a flat in Ogba, Ikeja which would be more affordable even before the agent nudges you.
3:Track Record:
Your procedure in selecting tenants should take seriously the need to investigate where each tenant is coming from. This is becoming important in the Nigeria society as urbanization and technology grows. People have become more mobile and pressure on our cities is on the rise. Twice now I have evicted tenants from one property for continuous rent default only to inherit them as tenants in new instruction passed to our office in other properties.
- much to their chagrin. Of course, at such times, there is no use pretending because we both know where we are coming from and they are forced to conduct themselves better.
Care must be taken not to allow difficult people into occupation of a property you are letting when a simple investigation on their past record may warn you ahead of time. What was the tenants last know address? Was he/she evicted voluntarily relocated? Why the decision to move from Lagos to Ibadan ? Purely economic reasons or simply a hideout to avoid law on past criminal records?
Look out for information on their office or trading address? These places must be verifiable. If outside of your present area, can you put a call through? Lastly, ask for references or guarantor who have some level of good standing in society. Without these in places, you need to be careful in making your selection.
4. Working from Home:
Inevitably, some tenants will work from home. In my experience. Most advance fee fraudsters can be detected in this category and they would not mind to pay a generous rent. It has occurred several times that eventually when the law catches up with such tenants the agent and the landlord are called for questioning on how they came about letting the property to a fraudster. Beware of fraudster and take serious hint of a suspicion that you may have with a potential tenant. Some other tenants working from home may cause the property to deteriorate faster and cause the property owner much more than the rental income he is receiving to fix damages or wear and tear beyond the average. A car dealer, mechanic or mechanical engineering who store engine parts. Oily spares, and other junk may not pay attention to dirt at the premises. At some period, I got involved in letting a decent 3-bedroom detached bungalow to an ex-accountant in a publishing house who went ahead to start a small poultry in the premises. By the time we were forced to commence an eviction process to terminate his tenancy, he had at least four cows in the premises, apart from chickens and goat.
5 Personal Character:
Every potentials tenants sitting before you in your office will always present their best front and try to appear to be of good character. The truth is, not all these people are suitable as tenants. Unfortunately, there is no art to interpreting the minds construction from the face. You have to be fairly good judge of character in a short encounter with potential tenants. By the time you have gone through the preceding criteria, you can make up your mind. However, issues like outward appearance, physical presentation and dressing also help. Check out the tenants interaction? Does he appear cooperative,difficult,haughty,argumentative,authoritarian,honest? Take as much details as you can, even from staff who conducted inspections and then decide among your options.
* About city gold properties and integrated business ltd.
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