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

In Penn Laird, our management staff prefers to work with dependable renters. Here are some of the traits we expect.

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 renter is trustworthy. A renter does not sneak in a co-tenant or pet.
3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A renter does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
4. A renter does not overwork the home.
5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to work with. A renter knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
7. A tenant complains at appropriate times. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause head-aches for property managers.
8. A tenant doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to upgrade functioning systems. A renter doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A tenant doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the renter doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
9. A renter does not smoke in the rental.
10. A renter is looking for a lease that is as long as the real estate investor wants to rent the home.

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