A choice of two tenants

A choice of two tenants

16:28 PM, 14th March 2012, About 13 years ago

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If you had a choice of the two tenants below which would you choose?

  1. A middle-aged couple (one working and earning minimum wage, one at home) with two school age daughters, who have rented their current two-bedroom home for 4 years, and now want a 3 bedroomed house so that their daughters can have a room each. Current Landlord states rent has always been paid in full and on time, and thinks they get Housing Benefit to subsidise the rent. The couple are very keen to rent your property as it’s close to their daughters’ school, but can’t afford a Bond. Parent (home-owner) will act as Guarantor.
  2. A professional couple both in their twenties, recently moved to the area due to promotion and job relocation for one of them. Can afford Bond and parent (home-owner) will also act as Guarantor.

From a risk point of view, assuming both pass a credit check, they both look like they’d be pretty good tenants, don’t they?

One of the things missing from the tenant selection process of most Letting Agents is an assessment of how long they’re likely to stay.

We all know that tenant turnover usually results in a void period and some refurbishment costs, which costs money.

Our credit vetting process shows how long the applicants have been in their previous home(s) during the last 6 years.

We can then use this, in conjunction with an assessment of their circumstances, to work out who is likely to stay longer.

Based on this, I’d select the family rather than the tenant in the example above. The professional couple are a slightly lower credit risk and have a bond but there’s a good chance they’ll be on the move again in a year or two.

By the way, our average tenancy length is 3 years 8 months compared to the industry average of 18 months.


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