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

In Stephens City, our team likes to work with good tenants. Here are some of the traits we look for.

1. A renter pays the rent when due every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
2. A tenant is honest. A tenant does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
3. A renter is reasonably clean. A renter does not bring pests like rodents and bugs.
4. A renter does not misuse systems.
5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to get along with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A tenant doesn't disturb neighbors.
7. A renter reports problems at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost landlords money and cause head-aches for property managers.
8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a renter doesn't demand 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 tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
9. A tenant does not smoke in the home.
10. A renter is looking for a rental term that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the property.

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