How To Prepare The Perfect Rental Packet (And Get That Apartment)

There are many competitive real estate markets and that’s why you need to show that you are a good tenant to the landlord. Otherwise, you will have other people just taking the spot you want. And that’s why preparing the right rental packet is extremely important, it can help you save time, while ensuring the results you’re getting are second to none.

Why does it matter to have a rental packet?

Truthfully, a rental packet is important because it allows you to stay well-organized. It alleviates and removes a lot of the pressure and challenges that arise, while also bringing in some interesting solutions to consider. If you don’t have a rental packet, it’s possible that you can miss out on paperwork. Plus, you can look disorganized when compared to other tenants. Plus, it might be hard to communicate the preparedness and stability that you provide as a tenant.

However, if you do create a rental packet, that will make it easier to apply on the spot. It also helps you impress landlords with your professionalism and reliability. On top of that, you can apply on the spot and don’t have to wait, which is something to consider here. Plus, the job of a landlord becomes a whole lot easier if you have all the info ready for them.

What should you have in the rental packet?

1. Cover letter

The cover letter is your introduction to the landlord. You want to show who you are, why you want to rent there, how much time you plan on staying there, and you also need to show reliability to the landlord. While these things might not seem like much at first, they do provide a lot of info and can indeed make you stand out.

2. Rental application form

Obviously, you don’t just want to have the form. You want to complete the entire form, and fill it digitally, if you can. Usually, these forms include things like your full name and contact info, social security number, employment or income details, rental history, references and many others. All of those can add up, and they help make the process much easier.

3. Proof of income

One of the major things that you need to focus on when creating a rental packet is showcasing the proof of income. It’s obvious that landlords want to see if they can rely on you, and whether you earn enough or not. The last 3 pay stubs, 2-3 months of bank statements, maybe an employment verification letter, that can be extremely useful and can provide a much better result in the long term.

4. Credit report

It also makes sense to have a copy of the credit report in there. There are landlords which will actually try to pull credit reports on their own. But it does make sense to try and pull one for yourself and have it there for any landlord. Why does a landlord want to see your credit report? For starters, it shows that you are indeed paying the bills on time, and you can manage the debt load. Plus, showcasing financial responsibility is a lot easier with a credit report.

5. Rental history

While it might not seem that it matters, you do want to have the rental history if possible, as it only makes things easier to manage. You can highlight professional references, the tenancy dates from previous landlords, etc. It adds credibility to add this kind of stuff, and the best part is that it’s something you can add for most of the previous tenancies. You don’t need to add all of them, but adding even just a couple increases the overall credibility that you provide, and it matters quite a bit.

6. Photo ID

It might seem the obvious choice, but realistically, you need to have a copy of your ID in the rental packet. It can be a state ID, driver’s license copy, or even a passport copy. Regardless of the situation, it makes sense to check these and see that they are not expired. Keeping them up to date and having them ready to go is going to help more than you expect.

7. Other documents

The rental packet will differ from one person to the next, as each one has their own criteria. But for the most part, you want to make sure that the rental packet includes relevant info and documents. A lot of the time, you can have a pet resume, proof of renter’s insurance if that’s necessary, but also a letter of recommendation from the previous landlord. That’s not always a necessity, however it does come in handy for some of the landlords that are very picky. At the end of the day, it never hurts to have something like that, and in the end, you’ll find it to convey a much better experience than expected. Utility bills can also come in handy since it can show you’re paying the bills and you are a responsible tenant!

Make sure the rental packet is professional-looking

The reason why it matters to have a professional-looking rental packet is because it shows your personality and how you might be as a tenant. There are landlords that can be very picky a lot of the time. Try to use a clean binder, organize everything with labeled tabs, and place documents in the logical order.

You can also have the digital version of the rental packet as well. Combine all your documents into a single PDF and name it in a way that’s very easy to use and access. Also, make sure that the PDF file is not overly large, so you can still send it via email. And if possible, you can try to add a clickable table of contacts. That way, even if the rental packet is long, it becomes easier to navigate everything in the end.

Always tailor the packet to the market

That’s the idea, you always need to try and tailor your rental packet to the market at hand. For example, in a large city, a digital rental packet is the better approach, as it’s easy to present and highlight the info in it. Private landlords like a personalized letter cumulated with some personal references. And then we also have corporate property managers that like credit score and income verification. Knowing these details can make the process much easier, so try to keep that in mind.

Mistakes you should avoid

We are all human and make mistakes, even when it comes to creating a rental packet. And some of the most common mistakes include:

• Having unexplained rental gaps, that makes things more worrisome and you won’t really know how to figure everything out.
• You submitted documents that are out of date, you want to avoid such a thing, as it only leads to problems.
• You might end up forgetting contact info for references, so the landlord doesn’t have a way to check if they are valid or not.
• The scans you sent are messy, unintelligible and that can affect the value of your rental packet.
• In some cases, you might not have all the financial info that the landlord wants to see. Checking that always helps, and it will make things much easier to manage if you avoid missing anything.

Conclusion

We think that a great rental packet shows value and it can help you highlight how good of a professional you are when it comes to rentals. The most important thing here is to focus on results and on better understanding how it all comes together. With that being said, sticking to this info and having a complete, but also personalized rental packet based on the situation can help you stand out!