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

In Browntown, our management staff likes to deal with reasonable tenants. Here are a few 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 renter has integrity. A tenant does not sneak in a co-renter or pet.
3. A tenant is reasonably clean. A renter does not bring pests such as rodents and bugs.
4. A renter does not break the home.
5. A renter is courteous and pleasant to work with. A tenant knows the difference between a property manager and a hotel concierge.
6. A renter doesn't bother neighbors.
7. A tenant reports problems when appropriate. tenants that don't report maintenance issues cost real estate investors money and cause problems for property managers.
8. A tenant 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 tenant 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 home.
10. A tenant is looking for a rental term that is as long as the owner wants to rent the property.

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 tardy renters can appear as polite, nicely-dress, well educated people with jobs. We have a knack for sniffing out tardy renters.