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

In Vienna, our management staff wants to work with good tenants. Here are some of the traits we look for.

1. A tenant 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 renter is reasonably clean. A tenant does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
4. A renter does not misuse systems.
5. A renter is courteous and easy to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A renter doesn't disturb neighbors.
7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause issues for property managers.
8. A tenant doesn't complain when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to upgrade functioning systems. A tenant 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 rental.
10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the landlord wants to rent the home.

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