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

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

1. A tenant pays the rent on time every month. This means paying on or before the first, rather than at 5 pm on the 5th.
2. A tenant has integrity. A renter 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 renter doesn't bother neighbors.
7. A renter complains at appropriate times. Renters that don't report maintenance issues cost property owners money and cause head-aches for property managers.
8. A renter doesn't gripe when it's not appropriate. This means that a tenant doesn't demand to replace functioning systems. A tenant doesn't expect more than the lease provides. A tenant doesn't complain that an appliance doesn't work when the tenant doesn't know how to operate the appliance.
9. A renter does not smoke in the home.
10. A tenant is looking for a lease that is as long as the owner wants to rent the home.

So this is what we're looking for in a renter, but how do we find renters who live 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 tardy renters.