Vetting Tenants — How we protect the landlord’s interests.

In Northern Virginia, our team prefers to work with good renters. Here are some of the traits we seek out.

1. A renter pays the rent on time every time. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
2. A renter is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
3. A tenant is fastidious. A renter does not attract pests such as rodents and bugs.
4. A renter does not destroy the property.
5. A tenant is courteous and pleasant to work with. A renter understands the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
7. A renter reports problems at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause problems for property managers.
8. A renter doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't ask to replace functioning systems. A renter doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A renter doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
9. A tenant does not smoke in the property.
10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the rental.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live up to this standard? Experience has taught us that unreasonable renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out unreasonable renters.