At Doorstead, we believe finding reliable, responsible tenants is one of the most important aspects of a successful rental experience. 

In this article, we outline the tenant screening process for our Guarantee service. For questions about the tenant screening process for Flex and Tenant Placement Only, please visit this article. 

The Doorstead Guarantee service is a game changer in the property management industry.

You can enjoy worry-free renting with guaranteed rental payments including protection against late payments, evictions, and early tenant departures.  You get paid no matter what. We handle the rest, including all aspects of the tenant screening process.

Can property owners have control over tenant selection for Doorstead’s Guarantee?

We understand that many property owners want to be involved in deciding who rents their property. 

To comply with the Fair Housing Act and legal liability, Doorstead maintains full control over tenant screening for the Doorstead Guarantee service. Property owners cannot review applications or influence selection decisions.

Rest assured, our experienced team handles the entire leasing process, including tenant screening and selection.

While you can't take part in screening or selection, we are always happy to discuss our process and criteria with you in detail so you can understand how we screen and select tenants.

If you prefer control over tenant screening and selection, we offer that flexibility to homeowners with our Doorstead Flex and Tenant Placement Only services. 

How long does it take Doorstead to find a tenant? 

Under the Guarantee service, rent is paid to you even in cases of tenant vacancy. We know that vacancy is costly, and our goal is to find great tenants as quickly as possible. Our effective marketing and streamlined showing process typically allows us to place a highly qualified tenant in just 2 to 4 weeks. The speed of placement depends on seasonality and market conditions, but we typically lease homes 57% faster than the industry average. 

How do you market my property and find interested tenants?

Listing process:

Our expert team crafts compelling listings with high-quality professional photos, ensuring your home stands out on the top 15 rental websites including Zillow, Apartments.com, Trulia and more.

We continue to optimize your listing across all the top rental platforms and begin scheduling showings. We aim to hold an open house the first weekend after your property is listed to generate strong applicant interest. Our renter qualification criteria are clear and upfront to the tenant, so we tend to attract quality prospects.

Screening process:

After conducting showings and receiving tenant applications, our thorough screening process can be completed in just 1 to 2 days in most cases. As soon as we identify a highly qualified applicant who meets all standards, we will promptly sign the lease along with the selected tenant.

When multiple prospective tenants apply for your property, we screen and process applications in the order they are received. We select the most qualified applicant group with the soonest move in date to ensure we are filling the home as quickly as possible! If they decline, we move to the next qualified group until the vacancy is filled. This ensures a fair and efficient selection process.

For in-demand homes, Doorstead has had over 150 showing requests, dozens of showings and more than 10 applicants to verify before filling a home. Our team expertly manages all customer interactions in strict compliance with FHA (Fair Housing Act) guidelines, saving you valuable time and money while mitigating potential legal risks.

While you can't be directly involved in tenant screening for the Guarantee service, you can rest assured that your property is in skilled, capable hands with the Doorstead team.

What are your screening criteria for tenants?

At Doorstead, we are committed to placing exceptional tenants who meet the highest standards.

Here’s what our multi-step screening process includes:

1. Rental Application: Prospective tenants complete a detailed application providing employment, income, rental history, and other key background information. 
2. Identity Verification: We use top-tier verification software to confirm the applicant's identity and prevent fraud.
3. Credit Check: We run a full credit report on each applicant to assess their financial responsibility and rent payment ability. Our minimum required credit score is 650.
4. Income Verification: We contact the applicant's employer to verify their job status and confirm they meet our income requirement of at least 3x the monthly rent.
5. Background Check: We conduct a thorough background screening where applicable per city laws. This includes a review of criminal records, prior evictions, and other public records relevant to tenancy.
6. Prior Landlord References: We contact the applicant's previous landlords to inquire about their rental history, on-time payments, and tenant behavior.

We treat all applicants equally, evaluating them only based on our predetermined qualifying criteria, such as credit, income, rental history, and background check results. These criteria help us identify tenants who are financially stable, responsible, and likely to pay rent on time and take good care of your property. 

If we do discover any red flags during an applicant's background check, our expert team carefully analyzes the full context and details to make an informed and lawful decision about their suitability as a tenant. You can learn more about our rigorous tenant screening and fraud prevention process in this article.

By thoroughly vetting each applicant against these strict criteria, Doorstead minimizes the risks of non-payment, property damage, and costly evictions down the line. In fact, our rigorous screening standards have resulted in eviction rates well below industry averages.

Through our comprehensive screening process, laser-focused selection criteria, and advanced fraud protection system, we can quickly secure reliable renters and provide property owners with a worry-free rental experience. 

"It's been amazing working with the Doorstead team to get my condo ready and finding the right tenant. They have an amazing team who takes away the pain of renting, vetting the tenants and managing the property from landlords. I opted for Guaranteed Rent option and couldn't be happier. Thank you Doorstead team. I highly recommend working with them."

Sachin Telang, (Zillow)

Our thorough tenant screening is just one of the many benefits of our Guarantee property management service, which offers you a steady rental income and low stress.

We have slightly different tenant selection and screening procedures for Doorstead’s Flex and Tenant-placement only products. You can view the tenant screening procedure for Flex and Tenant Placement Only here.

We hope this article helped answer some of your questions. For further information, please contact our customer service team. From there, we can continue to assist you.