One of the best ways to ensure high quality tenants is to talk to their employers. They’ll have a feel for how your applicant handles themselves in various situations, and you can verify important employment information, such as their income.
Why Follow Up With the Applicant’s Employer?
Some of the most important questions that you need answers to can only be found from your tenant’s employer! There’s no guarantee that your applicant will be truthful regarding their job title and income. You need verification straight from the source.
With the cost for an eviction running at least $3,500, finding applicants who are unlikely to leave unexpectedly or violate the lease should be your top priority.
In addition, you want great tenants to stay for a long time. With average rent prices surpassing $2,000 nationwide, you should do everything in your power to prioritize applicants who appear likely to stay for a while. Otherwise, vacancies will destroy any profit you were planning on.
Beware of Fake Employers
Unfortunately, it’s very easy for your applicant to give you the phone number of a friend who can pose as their manager.
There are a couple of ways to avoid this:
- Go to the company’s website and call the company’s main line, then ask to be transferred to the name listed on the application.
- Ask specifics. The more specific questions you ask that an employer would know the answers to, the harder it is for someone to fake the answers.
- Verify the reference’s name on the company website. This won’t work in all cases, but many will have upper-level employees listed.
- Ask, “Do you have any job openings?” They’re expecting a call from a landlord, not a job seeker, and the question may throw off an impostor.
None of these are foolproof, but using a few of them together can decrease the chances of this happening to you.
11 Questions to Ask a Rental Applicant’s Employer
Here are the most useful questions to ask an employer:
- Who Am I Speaking With?
- What is [Applicant’s] Annual/Hourly Salary?
- Does [Applicant] Have a History of Missed Work?
- Would You Recommend [Applicant] to a Landlord?
- Does [Applicant] Have a History of Write-ups or Disciplinary Issues?
- How Long Has [Applicant] Been Employed?
- What is [Applicant’s] Job Title?
- Does [Applicant] Have a History of Being Late to Work?
- Why Did [Applicant] Leave? (Previous Employer)
- Do You Like Working With [Applicant]?
- Anything Else I Should Know?
1. Who Am I Speaking With?
Before you ask any questions about your applicant’s information, ensure you’re talking to the right person. You don’t want to talk to a close work friend who will vouch for anything the applicant said.
Ideally, talk to a direct supervisor or someone in HR. One possible issue is that HR may not know your applicant personally in larger companies. In these cases, you may ask to talk to HR and the applicant’s direct supervisor.
2. What is [Applicant’s] Annual/Hourly Salary?
When talking to an employer, your most important goal is to find out if they make enough money to pay the rent each month. If they don’t earn enough, you can skip the rest of their application and move along.
If they’ve lied about how much they make, that’s also enough of a red flag to move to the next applicant.
Some employers have complicated pay structures (e.g., bonuses, stipends, commissions) and HR may have a different number on file than what your employee earns. Make sure to clarify the numbers so you don’t turn down a great applicant because of a miscommunication.
3. Does [Applicant] Have a History of Missed Work?
This gives you more information about your tenant’s reliability. Knowing their work habits is a good start if you want to know if they’ll follow the rules of your lease agreement.
If someone can’t consistently make it to work, can you trust them to mow the lawn, shovel the snow, take care of utilities, and call you when maintenance issues arise?
4. Would You Recommend [Applicant] to a Landlord?
While you’re within your right to ask this question, an HR representative doesn’t have to answer. However, if they’re willing and able to answer, this type of question can unearth important nuggets when determining your applicant’s character.
5. Does [Applicant] Have a History of Write-ups or Disciplinary Issues?
The more responsible your tenants are, the more success you’ll have as a property manager. If they have a history of acting out or getting into trouble at work, the same will likely happen with the property.
6. How Long Has [Applicant] Been Employed?
Applicants with a stable job history typically have more job security and earning potential. They may also be more likely to stick around for a longer period of time.
You should first ask for a detailed job history on the application. Confirm this with their employer(s) so that you can rest assured they’re not prone to job-hopping—which could be a sign they’re generally restless and may move out quickly from your unit.
7. What is [Applicant’s] Job Title?
Then, also ask:
- Is it a full-time position or part-time?
- What are their job responsibilities?
- Are they a contract worker or w-2 employee?
This can tell you a couple of things:
- Are they responsible? If they have a job with a lot of responsibility, they are more likely to be responsible in other areas of their lives. For example, a department manager, a doctor, or a social worker could indicate a responsible person.
- Do they have a job title that transfers to other employment? You want to know if there are other employment opportunities if your applicant loses their job. For example, someone in digital marketing will likely have plenty of opportunities in a moderately high-paying field. However, an artist who lucked into a good gig may have trouble matching that salary with their next employment.
8. Does [Applicant] Have a History of Being Late to Work?
If they don’t respect their employer, who pays them, will they respect you and your property?
9. Why Did [Applicant] Leave? (Previous Employer)
If your applicant has had multiple jobs in the past five years, be sure to reach out to their previous employers. After all, they may be a terrible employee, but their current work hasn’t caught on yet.
Talking to a previous employer can help you uncover longer patterns of bad behavior, as well as whether the employee was fired and why.
Many states have specific laws detailing what a former employer may say about your applicant. Check this list to see if your state restricts what they can divulge about your applicant.
10. Do You Like Working With [Applicant]?
We’re uncovering more about their character here. You want tenants who will handle the responsibilities you assign them. You want them to be communicative, respectful, and easy to work with.
The people they work with for 40+ hours a week will have a great feel for this.
11. Anything Else I Should Know?
This is an oft-forgotten question that can give you some great answers. This catch-all will help you unearth anything else that the reference hasn’t mentioned yet.
Don’t Discriminate When Choosing an Applicant
While asking these questions can help you create a good picture of your applicant’s character, you cannot deny their application for just any reason.
The Fair Housing Act set forth a list of protected classes. If your reason for denying an applicant falls under any of these protected classes, the applicant can sue you for discrimination.
These protected classes are:
- Race
- Religion
- Color
- Familial status
- Disability (This includes drug addiction. Illegal drug use is not protected)
- National origin
- Sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation)
In other words, if you discover a reason that makes you want to deny their application, be sure that the reason doesn’t fall under one of these protected classes.
For example, if their employer says that they don’t like the person very much, you can’t use that as your primary reason for denying an application. If your applicant also had some questionable items in their credit report, maybe the employer’s negative review can push you to move on to another applicant.
